Item #: SCP-1446

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: Samples of SCP-1446 should be kept on individual wooden slates, each wrapped in opaque plastic, in an hermetically sealed container. Only one sample should be maintained permanently; test samples should be incinerated at the conclusion of testing. Two guards armed with portable dry ice blasting units and infrared limited goggles should be on site at all times.

Testing is limited to D-Class personnel. Any agents wishing to interact with SCP-1446 must undergo Protocol 94-Wegner-Gyatso training, hold Level 3 Clearance or higher, and obtain Class 4 permission. Any others coming in contact with SCP-1446 must be administered Class-C amnestics or be terminated.

Description: SCP-1446 is any of a number of examples of an acrylic based, spray paint graffiti. SCP-1446 can appear in any format which can be depicted by this medium on a conventional surface, making instances of SCP-1446 difficult to distinguish until their anomalous properties manifest.

When a person observes an instance of SCP-1446, and consciously focuses on the art, it will immediately begin to spread, expanding over all available surfaces rapidly, introducing new themes and elements as it grows. This effect will last as long as it continues to be both visually and consciously examined by a human being. This can quickly grow hazardous as the expanding area covers buildings, vehicles, even people, spreading over skin, eyes, and into orifices. Depending on the size of the original sample and the number of viewers, SCP-1446 can easily cover 50 square centimeters of surface per second per observer. No maximum growth rate has been determined.

SCP-1446 will flow over any solid substance normally capable of holding paint in a setting pattern. It cannot cross over most fluids, and any breach between solids greater than 1 (one) centimeter effectively blocks growth. Only direct human observation triggers instances of SCP-1446. Anyone exposed, however, is subsequently able to create new instances of SCP-1446 simply by concentrating on the memory and using ordinary acrylic spray paint.

SCP-1446’s thematic material is wildly variable, but typically draws from the memories and experiences of the viewer(s). Designs mimic established graffiti tropes and artistic patterns witnesses are familiar with. Despite this apparent psychic link, SCP-1446 does not appear to be self aware. While manifestations lean towards the artistic and abstract, occasionally fanciful depictions of the observer’s personal life do occur. This makes SCP-1446 a risk for possible information leaks; security and exposure procedures should reflect this. To date test subjects have shown no conscious control over the imagery created.

SCP-1446 was an original display at an underground gallery event entitled TAZ-018, Moving Target. Held in the ██████████ Warehouse District in ████ ██████, Oregon, ██ people were killed in the initial exposure which the city originally interpreted as a disease outbreak or biological attack. No surviving promoters of the event have been located. Fliers for the event contained the following copy :

A work of art isn’t static. It never stops being created. When paint touches canvas, the creation has only just begun. Now it’s time for the painter to step back and the critic to step forward. The observer breaths life into art, each one changing its meaning, building on it. The art feeds on their ideas, their beliefs, their dreams and nightmares and perceptions, they imbue the creation with meaning. The interplay between the art and the patrons blossoms outward, smothering the boundaries between them until one wonders if there were ever a distinction between artist and audience at all, or if art is just a moving target?