These images were gathered in my travels across cities of Dublin, Vienna, and London. Seeing these, I realized people across other parts of the world feel a need to make their mark known. I wondered about the lives of who these artists were. Why did they choose these doodles or writings?

I thought it was important to lay these graffiti over a professional mural of the cityscape. There are many people in these urban settings interacting with one another every day, and so many of them are looking to express their love. Who was it that loved Jim and illustrated his portrait? Who saw the Mozart statue and thought about kissing their loved one? How beautiful is this anatomical heart, and who had the idea to make known their appreciation for boobs? Someone even illustrated two characters dancing and thought to come back to update that they had broken up.

None of these were commissioned, but each is beautiful and with a story to tell. Regular people felt their love and desire was important to make permanent on city structures that people often rush past. Now, each of these cities hold account of the ideas and history of the people in them. Graffiti often may be seen as unwanted vandalism, but I think it can be beautiful and reflect humanity. We can explore how graffiti is memory and how it is identity.

Expressing queer love may not be seen as wanted, either, but queer people persist, finding pieces of each other in public spaces, leaving signs for each other, and learning how to connect with one another in our communities. Queer people exist across these cities alike, and I can find pieces of myself there and in their expression through graffiti. Bringing these photographs together in this collage had formed a kind of constellation of love and desire– a queer map of parts of cities that may be overlooked, but have communicated their stories nevertheless.