Three years ago a handful of activists realised that something was really bugging them on their way to work in Athens.

“We’d walk by this chain link fence that had about 40 signs on it,” remembers Lefteris M, co-founder of what would come to be known as CleanJunkies, an informal group that combats illegal signs.

“It was both a question of environmental consciousness and personal aesthetics – taking them down felt very liberating,” says Lefteris, who doesn’t want the movement identified with a single individual, so is withholding his surname.

Lo and behold, hidden behind the signs was a cluster of trees.

“Your gaze was inevitably drawn to the signs, whereas now your eyes just rest on the greenery.”

This simple, yet effective intervention gave birth to the CleanJunkies, a movement meant to inspire copycat actions rather than a formal group for individuals to join.

So how do you know when a sign is illegal?

“Ninety-nine percent of outdoor advertising is illegal,” Lefteris says, adding: “It’s best not to mess with billboards as there are a lot of interests at stake and you might get in trouble.”

Sight for sore eyes

CleanJunkies target eyesores on trees, fences, abandoned buildings, public property and power poles. There are so many, the problem is “totally out of control”.

Most people would agree. All you have to do is step outside your front door and you’re immediately besieged by all sorts of illegal promotional messages about people, products and services.

“They affect your subconscious and slowly but surely city dwellers start getting a little more unhinged every day and they don’t even know why,” Lefteris says.
In case you were wondering why he’s refusing to reveal his full name, it’s not out of fear for retribution.

“We don’t want to capitalise on this type of activism because it could easily get derailed and lead you down paths you’d never thought you’d take. We just want to give people food for thought and inspire imitators. We want the CleanJunkies to be completely impersonal.”

At first, supporters scoured the streets dressed in hoodies but they eventually went on the record when people started having qualms about the movement’s legitimacy. But, strangely enough, they’ve apparently never gotten into trouble with the police.

“We have been stopped by officers but they invariably go on their way once we explain what we are doing. We’ve even come face-to-face with the people whose signs we were taking down.”

Peace, man

And still, no suggestions of violence have stained CleanJunkies’ good name. Which is more than Lefteris can say for Reclaiming the Streets, a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces that partially inspired the CleanJunkies but ended up getting sidetracked.

“It was a really amazing initiative at first,” says Lefteris, who had been following the UK-based movement closely.

“They’d go out on their bicycles and created this chain that would totally block the highway or throw a huge party right in the middle of the street, but the whole thing soon spun out of control and started resembling vandalism.”

Not so with “cleanjunking”, which has so far seen a maximum of 30 or 40 people hit the same area thanks to social networking via its Facebook page, but it’s mostly about two or three people at a time defending their turf.

“Large numbers slow us down,” Lefteris notes. “It’s best to just get your two best friends and hit the street. All you need to do is keep a pair of wire cutters in your car and whenever something catches your eye you just take it down. You don’t even need to go further than your own neighbourhood.”

The offending signs would invariably be deposited in recycling bins but then Lefteris and his friends came up with a more creative way to put them to good use: art!

From garbage, art

Trying to reach a new audience, their latest venture is called “Give Me A Sign”. The enviro-art project’s title is a double entendre, serving as an open call to drop off illegal signs at a designated location as well as a request for people to give CleanJunkies a sign they still care about their city.

Currently, Synergeio Theatre at 31 Kolonou St, Metaxourgeio, stores the plundered eyesores, which are then dispensed to interested artists as raw material.

The first batch of illegal signs has already been transformed into artwork and is on display at Artville Gallery, 12 Dinokratous St, Kolonaki, until January 26.

In early February, the show will be restocked with fresh pieces and migrate to Synergeio Theatre. A portion of the revenues is to be donated to Station Athens, a support program for young immigrants that offers art therapy and various other classes.

“We’re even thinking of doing it on a municipal level,” says Lefteris, who’s currently attending a sculpture workshop in the Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi.

“We wanted to invite residents to drop off their signs at a number of pre-selected spots but this time around we collaborated with www.debop.gr, an electronic entertainment guide which alerted people to our cause and put us in touch with both the theatre and the gallery. It virtually happened overnight.”

Source: Athens News