Style Writing, Archive, and Contemporary Graffiti Culture
BACKJUMPS – The Live Issue: Reality Check revisits one of the most influential independent publications in style writing and translates its legacy into a contemporary exhibition format. Curated by Adrian Nabi, Lukas Feireiss, Manuel Osterholt, and Daniel Künzler, the exhibition took place at Colab Gallery in Weil am Rhein, Germany, bringing together graffiti history, archival material, and contemporary artistic positions rooted in writing culture. Founded by Adrian Nabi in the early 1990s, BACKJUMPS became an international platform for style writing, graffiti photography, and cultural discourse. Long before social media, the magazine connected scenes across Europe and the United States, circulating images, texts, and ideas within a rapidly evolving global movement.
From Print Magazine to Live Exhibition
Reality Check continues the tradition of the BACKJUMPS Live Issues, expanding the magazine beyond print into exhibition space and the city itself. Original archive material—including blackbooks, drawings, photographs, and video documentation—is presented in direct dialogue with contemporary works. Rather than following a linear historical narrative, the exhibition creates a dynamic exchange between past and present. While style writing forms the shared background, many works move beyond graffiti’s original vocabulary into painting, sculpture, installation, abstraction, and conceptual approaches. What connects them is not one unified style, but a common cultural lineage.
Artists, Archive, and Montana BLACK
The exhibition featured an extensive lineup including Akim, Anastasia Mikrou, Antwan Horfee, Brad Downey, Boris Tellegen, Christian Falsnaes, Clemens Behr, DocTC5, EGS, Flash, Gues, JonOne, Kadir Amigo Memiş, Kacao77, Mode2, Part One, Phos4, Poet62, Sany, SKKI, The Wa, Victor Ash, Vincent Grunwald, and many more. The BACKJUMPS archive included material connected to Akay & Adams, Dondi, Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper, Kase2, T-Kid170, West, Zephyr, and other key figures of graffiti and style writing culture.
During the opening on June 13, 2026, live performances by JonOne, Giuseppe Flash Coppola, and Kadir Amigo Memiş brought the exhibition into direct action. Additional wall productions by Part One, DocTC5, Poet62, Deko156, Migel, Zeal, and Phers were painted using Montana BLACK, highlighting the high-pressure system, excellent coverage, and reliable performance trusted by graffiti writers worldwide.
Reality Check as a Cultural Platform
Accompanied by talks, live formats, and a diverse public program, BACKJUMPS – The Live Issue: Reality Check continued the original impulse of the magazine: not only to document graffiti culture, but to actively shape the discourse from within.
Images by COLAB Gallery
By bringing archive, exhibition, and live painting together at Colab Gallery, Reality Check offered a compelling perspective on the past, present, and future of style writing, demonstrating how graffiti continues to evolve as a global cultural practice.