Hitting the streets of England, a new form of Graffiti is baffling authorities. Instead of adding-on to make a mark, graffiti artists are taking off. By cleaning the walls and removing grime and exposing the natural wall, graffiti artist are bypassing the lay by not vandalizing but by cleaning. However, authorities are calling it “selective cleaning” and trying to draft up laws that make selective cleaning a crime. This new form of graffiti is done by cleaning dirt from sidewalks and tunnels — sometimes for money when the images are used as advertising. But some authorities are still calling it vandalism. Labeled as a reverse-graffiti artist, street art is transitioning to cleaning the grime and dirt off surfaces that they would once be happy to spray.

The tools are simple: a shoe brush, some water (cleaning solvent helps but that might be considered a chemical that could be punishable) and good ol’ elbow grease. Check out the pics below of some reverse graffiti.

Pictures of reverse graffiti, art made by selectively cleaning an area:

Moose, whose real name is Paul Curtis said that he got the idea when he saw that people had written their names with their fingers on dirty tunnel walls in his hometown of Leeds. Moose does some freehand drawing, but also uses the grid from wall tiles to create perfect shapes and letters.

British authorities aren’t sure what to make of the artist who is creating graffiti by cleaning the grime of urban life. The Leeds City Council has been considering what to do with Moose. “I’m waiting for the kind of Monty Python court case where exhibit A is a pot of cleaning fluid and exhibit B is a pair of my old socks,” he jokes.

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