Concrete Spirit
FROM CONCRETE TO PAPER, A WORK ON OUR ICONS
COURSE
How did you become an artist?
I've always created things with my hands, needing to express myself that way, before I started working in the street a year and a half ago. Being a street art enthusiast myself, I loved other artists and wanted to see if it could be my passion. I often get bored with what I do, and urban art allowed me to find an activity that truly engaged me. Moving to the street was a logical progression, a gradual process. Six months passed between my first stencils and putting them up in the street, giving me time to feel ready. This reflection was necessary because I wondered if I was being an opportunist, if it would be well-received. I didn't know if I belonged. The world of street art is unique, and newcomers aren't always well-regarded. But ultimately, I took the plunge, without expecting to develop in this way; that's why the concept of "artist" seems difficult to define. Who can say who is and who is not? Positioning oneself in this way is a problem for many people.
FROM CONCRETE TO PAPER
How did you start working with concrete on your first figurines?
I was born on ships, my parents being freight carriers. I've always known that world, the one I work in today, a world of wood and steel. Concrete was a material I had absolutely no experience with, but one I wanted to work with. A few years ago, I opened a vintage industrial furniture shop, for which I wanted to develop a line of concrete products. I started by creating simple things until I came to these Lego figurines. It's a brand that everyone recognizes, and initially, I just wanted to offer them as decorative items, something a little different from the basic figurines we usually hold. Very quickly, I started customizing them to make them more personal. I had images of these painted Lego pieces printed on paper, and that's how I started urban collage, before wondering what else I could offer in the street.
Why choose collage as the medium?
It was easier to create at home before pasting up the mural than to paint a wall on site. Putting up a collage takes two minutes, whereas it takes time to start sketching on a wall. Stencils are a technique I was already using on furniture, and some artists I admire inspired me to pursue this path. It's not just an image you print and cut out: it's worked on beforehand, retouched according to the dark and light areas you want to emphasize. While working on them, the images appear in black and white and are therefore easier to reproduce this way, but I'm increasingly working with color, which better reflects my personality. I want to evolve and create increasingly technically sophisticated pieces.
Do you only glue unique pieces?
I'm not a fan of printing; that's why I wanted to work with stencils, so I could create only unique pieces. It's very important to me that the work be completed in its entirety, culminating in the wall itself. For me, simply pasting a print would be incomplete; it wouldn't be a true work of art. It has to be a painting created specifically for a wall. There can, however, be several editions of the same stencil, but you should know that because I work with a brush and not a spray can, I spend a lot of time painting: preparing a collage takes me between three and five hours.
What is your relationship to the very ephemeral nature of collage?
This doesn't bother me, as we all know it will eventually tear or peel off due to the weather. I have more difficulty with the removal or tearing off of pieces that I don't understand, even though I can see that some pieces might not be to everyone's liking. When I find a wall I like, I appreciate it when the collage remains isolated, but I don't mind if others add their own to the same wall, because the street is a public space that belongs to everyone.
What is your relationship with photography?
For me, a piece is finished the moment I place it in the street. A photograph allows me to anchor that moment in time, to preserve a record of it. Indeed, there are many collages that I don't publish and that I keep for myself, like a small collection. One day I might make prints of them. I enjoy printing small books of the works I've created to give to my loved ones.
A WORK ON ICONS
Your Lego pieces represented many pop culture icons.
I chose to depict the figures who resonate most with people, like those from the greatest films. However, I realize that these aren't necessarily the ones who resonate most with me. So, I prefer to create personalized portraits that reflect my own personality more. People love seeing famous figures on the street, but they don't necessarily want to have them in their homes. Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe are figures who speak to a wide audience and remain icons because of their unconventional lives, but I also photograph lesser-known celebrities, like Monica Vitti. This allows people to discover other personalities. Even if I don't specifically choose them for this reason, it's also true that these iconic portraits allow for greater interaction with the public.
You do indeed center your stencils around female figures.
I started creating images using my daughter as a model, and when I asked who I could photograph, it was mainly women who responded. I also began to create male portraits, but that has nothing to do with any issues of commitment. I simply find that the female figure conveys something else: hair, for example, allows you to work with textures.
PASTE TODAY
Why is the street a special space for creation?
The street is not like any other place, because it allows for an enormous degree of freedom. It offers people the opportunity to have art at their fingertips. I don't work for a specific wall: I usually wander around to place my work wherever I want it to appear. In fact, it is necessarily in harmony with the chosen wall. The street functions differently from a gallery where all the walls are the same color and the frames are arranged in a specific way. Through the wall, which serves as the canvas, it lends character to the work and becomes an integral part of it. Personally, I appreciate faded, crumbling walls, where the different layers of paint and materials are revealed.
Do you stick next to other artists?
Initially, I preferred to paste my work in streets where street art was prevalent, as I knew nothing about it. However, over time, I've learned to prefer places where there's no one else. The issue of artists pasting their work next to each other often leads to conflict. After doing it myself in my early days and being called out for it, I understood what was wrong and now try to avoid pasting next to other artists. That said, it's important to understand that a poster's act of placing a piece next to another artist's work isn't necessarily an attempt to vandalize, but is more often a kind of tribute to the artist they admire.
Without forming a collective, outings to paste up posters in groups are frequent among young urban artists.
I've never pasted up my work alone. In the very beginning, I wasn't accompanied by other artists, but by a group of people I like and who encouraged me to take to the streets. Now, I'm offered group sessions, which are interesting for discovering the work of other artists and sharing a moment with people who have different perspectives, who will choose a wall for reasons other than my own. This dynamic is motivating, driven by the idea of sharing. Furthermore, as artists, we spend a lot of time in the studio, and getting together also allows us to have a social life.
Do you feel like you are part of an artistic movement?
You can feel that street art is evolving; it's become a trend with more and more exhibitions. I don't know if I'm part of this movement, as I wasn't a pioneer. New street artists are simply continuing it. I started primarily out of passion and personal choice. My work doesn't necessarily carry a message; I simply aim to brighten things up, bring a smile, and evoke certain emotions. Having a father who was a rebel, I grew up in that atmosphere, but I don't want my work to follow that path, because it's exhausting to constantly fight for something. I want to enjoy life, share joy and good humor, and be personally committed, without preaching to try and convince others. We're all aware of what's happening, but everyone is free to act as they see fit, and most people don't care. Commitment is simply a matter of personal motivation.
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