It’s an age old debate, what is art? But the question has become even more relevant today as an art student has been jailed for 12 months for his graffiti work.

You may recognise the ‘Zerx’ tag seen in the image above. It’s been popping up all over London ever since the student protests started at the end of 2010 and is the handy work of 22-year-old art student Harry Finn-Conway who has today been jailed for 12 months for vandalism.

The story has got us to thinking about the fine line between street art and mindless vandalism and it seems to us that the definition is purely dependant on who is looking at it. While street artists such as Banksy, Roa and several other lesser known names take to the streets of London daily to leave their mark on the capital’s buildings other young artists are trying to follow suit but are being penalised for it.

Never mind the fact 12 months in prison is a very long time for someone who has simply graffitied a hand full of buildings the case should also call on London councils to define what is and isn’t art because right now it seems like no one has a clue.