Signs of the times
Page 40
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WHEREAS in Britain the signwriter's art on bodywork tends to be replaced by transfers, pop art flourishes on lorries in parts of Africa and I learn from The Times in Afghanistan.
The metal sheets fixed over the woodwork of long-distance lorries in Afghanistan provide admirable areas for elaborate decoration copies from Christmas cards, calendars, comics and mosques. The more intricate and expensive the paintings, the more honoured the operator becomes.
The parallel in Britain is the highly "customised" (ghastly word) treatment of the vehicles of some dedicated ownerdrivers, who express their vitality in gaudy displays. This is the antithesis of the finicky Victorian lining, scrolls and shaded lettering that conveyed respectability in a more formal age.