Textual works respond to language used both in and around the site and words that described it within the culture as a means of demarking and possessing the space. The catalogue of terms used by developers from ‘dead zone’ to ‘brown fields’ also reflects a process of determining a places (perceived) value through language.

For graffiti writers the relationship between language and territory is fundamental (sadly technique and style often seem lower on the agenda than ‘getting up’). The writers’ relationship to actual letters is revealed by Václav Magid in the book CAP (Crew Against People) to be surprisingly conservative: pieces are judged on shape and originality however the goal is to maintain and honour original styles in order to perfect them. If graffiti has a radical current at all it lies within the sheer thrill taken in the disrespecting of private property laws. In contrast to the fixed palate that the bulk of graffiti writers adhere to, textual interventions in wasteland spaces also take the form of protest works such as “Show you are not afraid” by Mikael Mikael.