Adhesive Tape Street Art by Buff Diss

Melbourne-based street artist Buff Diss creates beautiful graffiti art, not by using spray paint and stencils, but adhesive tapes. Because he doesn’t use paint, his works are temporary yet nondestructive to the environment and property. This has allowed him to create art in public places without fear from the authorities. And tapes work well for Buff for he has a preference for geometric forms, which the straight, sharp edges of the tapes help him deliver easily. In fact, that’s how he discovered tape art – by accident. Buff was using tape as a tool, but then he saw that the lines of tape were drawings on their own. It was then he realized that he could completely forgo paint for tapes. Since that incident in 2005, tape became his main medium.

"I tend not to sketch unless there’s a specific image to re-create, and even then I prefer to work from a photo," he said to Fast Co. Create. "I should sketch more, but I enjoy the directness in finding a space and responding to it without a piece in mind."

About his art’s perishability, Buff says that his pieces can actually hold on for years if the tape bonds well to the surface, without weather getting to it first. "On glass, they become permanent. But a lot of pieces in the street will be gone the next day," he said.

Buff Diss isn’t the only one who works with tapes. Check out the brilliant works by Max Zorn and Mark Khaisman.