Dublin Dereliction Duty: Street Graffiti Puzzlers

The Liberties, Dublin

Ah, fun with negative space. At first I thought this was simply a case of paper slowly deteriorating, then I saw a cornflake in a lightbulb, and last but not least, like a believer finding the face of Jesus in a bowl of pancake batter, I saw the shape of a familiar icon begin to reveal itself in the black and white remains. Fun, innit?

Some folks like to puzzle over Sudoku, the gluttons for punishment, and others whittle away at the cryptic crossword. But if you, like me, prefer to take your brain teasers on the go, there's no shortage of this stuff on the walls and sidewalks of a city. Peeling signs. Half-painted murals. The head of the Bride of Frankenstein superimposed on a leg in fishnets. Trying to figure out what it all means may not lead to any answers or hot meals, but it's good if you're a city dweller to get in touch with one's inner hobo. Who knows, maybe if this recession keeps up we'll all be eating out of trash cans and communicating via scratched signs anyway. Might as well get a head start.

Also, there's room here to improvise a haiku if anyone feels so inspired. There's a few words to get you started, but the rest of the space is all yours.