Sharing his artwork on Instagram on January 31, a video from ENDEM quickly racked up tens of thousands of views: Vibrant images of bright block lettering splayed across the building’s exterior paired with footage from the inside - the artist posing with shots of his spray paint cans, poised above the cityscape. Still, neither ENDEM nor any of the other artists involved realized how famous their work on the Oceanside towers would become. (The Los Angeles City Attorney confirmed to CNN that, as of April 3, criminal charges have been filed against 23 individuals, for violations including trespassing and possession of vandalism tools.)ĮNDEM's tag, pictured here adorning the walls of the 3rd Street tunnel in Downtown Los Angeles. Security at the site was known to be lax, an important detail as accessing the plaza’s towers and other buildings constitutes trespassing. The plaza’s status - and potential - as an eye-catching venue for their work spread by word of mouth within the graffiti community in recent months.

However, construction on the $1 billion project, which began in 2015, was shelved after the Chinese-backed contractor Oceanwide Holdings ran out of funding in 2019 - and it has lain unfinished ever since.

Occupying over a full square city block, the plaza was imagined as a vast mixed-use building project, offering city residents over 500 lavish condominiums, a five-star hotel, retail spaces, restaurants and a private 2-acre park. Their choice of canvas: Oceanwide Plaza in Downtown LA. Climbing up abandoned, unfinished floors and tightrope walking across balcony ledges, backpacks clanging with cans of alkyd and acrylic, a collective of Los Angeles graffiti artists have transformed their craft beyond urban aesthetics to champion community issues.

Los skyscraper wallpaper