Online artist takes a swipe at Halloween party-goers and the sea of trash they leave in their wake.

A Japanese Twitter artist who excels at showing in art what photographs don’t show, is back again. This time, @avogado6 is taking a wry look at the growing problem of the post-Halloween clear-up. The image juxtaposes the bright, smiling frivolity of the costumed party-goers with the enormous amount of thoughtlessly discarded rubbish hidden in the shadows behind them.

The piece, pleasantly titled “Litter-Vomiting Monsters”, shows the street in front of the three celebrating Halloween clean and bright, but the path behind them is piled high with the fast food wrappers, drinks containers and cigarette butts they nonchalantly throw over their shoulders, left for the poor chap in the background to have to pick up.

While the photos of good-looking party-goers in clever, or just skimpy, costumes make the news, the refuse that they leave behind them is less often covered. As Halloween has become bigger and bigger with each passing year, so has the mountain of detritus grown. Shibuya, one of the centres of Halloween celebration in Japan, faces a major litter hangover the next day.

▼ Those celebrating Halloween might be picking up members of the opposite sex, or same sex for that matter, but they’re not picking up their litter.

While some party-goers used the Jack-o’-lantern-style rubbish bags provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, many others didn’t, simply leaving their litter where it fell.

▼ Last year too, volunteers and kids took to the streets to clear up after the previous night’s street party.

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/925358330981203970

According to other Twitter users, local elementary school children had been roped into helping clear the streets in previous years but because of the danger involved their participation has gradually declined. Instead, other locals and, according to one respondent, the area’s DJs and bar-workers have been lending a hand. Volunteer groups, like the “Clean by Ourselves” campaign also try to help deal with the overflow, even if they might face criticism for doing so.

While many of those who commented on @avogado6’s illustration, which has been liked over 250,000 times, were damning of those who contributed to the problem and lamented for those who had to clean it all up the next morning, others suggested that the artist tarred with too large a brush, arguing that the vast majority of revelers took their rubbish home with them, and it wasn’t Halloween at fault, since the same could be seen at any Japanese festival.

One respondent summed it up best though, when they suggested that the image would make an excellent poster to put up before next year’s event to remind participants to clear up after themselves.

Source, featured image: Twitter/avogado6