User:Evrydy/sandbox/Laser 3.14

Laser 3.14 is the pseudonym of an anonymous street artist, painter and poet in Amsterdam, who began writing graffiti as a child in the eighties.

The poet behind the pseudonym Laser 3.14 sprays short socio-critical messages on temporary surfaces in Amsterdam in particular. Instead of writing on walls to leave a permanent mark, he always uses temporary surfaces such as fences, construction site hoardings, protective wooden panels, tarp covers and signs for example. Using black text almost exclusively, he never draws images and almost never uses colour in his street works.

Laser 3.14 started his creation of street poetry in the early 2000s, with his poems being largely influenced by the lyrics of musicians such as The Doors, The Velvet Underground and Joy Division. Laser draws inspiration from a variety of sources including his own personal life experiences, love, hate, tolerance, intolerance, music, movies, politics and religion, often addressing social, political and personal topics relatable to people.

His pseudonym is a reference to his love of science fiction. The 3.14 in his name stands for the mathematical constant Pi, which for him is also an abbreviation for 'public image'. In addition to his street art activities, he is also an exhibiting artist and cartoonist, with the book ‘Are You Reading Me’, published in 2009.