Moss Graffiti

Moss Invader

Our first attempt at moss graffiti went better than expected – two out of three designs where successful.  Overall, we learned a great deal about what is and is not possible with this living medium.  Our technique was simple enough graffiti fare: don’t ask permission, make a stencil, spray it with something (in this case, Elmer’s adhesive glue), blend a moss smoothie to a fine consistency, apply moss paste, allow to dry, peel off stencil, trim and repeat as desired.

Inspired by possibilities, how could we expand this into an urban intervention?  One thought is to ‘grow’ a moss mural with wires embedded in the moss to make them capacitive to touch.  People instinctively gravitate toward touching moss when they encounter it so this is a natural iteration.  Why not leverage the tactileness of moss to create a musical instrument in a public space?  It seems like the next logical step for moss graffiti.