{"id":186,"date":"2019-05-01T11:58:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T11:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/?p=186"},"modified":"2026-06-18T11:58:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:58:58","slug":"jaeraymie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/jaeraymie\/","title":{"rendered":"JAERAYMIE"},"content":{"rendered":"

JAERAYMIE \u2013 TRANSFORMING WORDS INTO MURAL PAINTING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 2019 \u2013 3809 words<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COURSE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you become an artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started doing street art and narrative illustration work a little over three years ago. Before that, I had other means of expression, like music, and I worked in video. I was a musician, singer, and songwriter from my late teens until my thirties. I had a fairly basic knowledge of urban art\u2014Banksy, Obey, Invader, Blek le Rat, and Ernest Pignon-Ernest, whose work I discovered thanks to my mother. During the summer of 2016, I started creating in a different way, out of necessity, mainly to feel better personally. The street became a more suitable outlet than the confinement of rehearsal or recording studios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I initially tried an illustrative project, which had nothing to do with the street: listening to an album and creating a visual during the listening time. I did about ten album covers (John Coltrane, Mac Miller, Battles, Action Bronson) until I finished the one for Nina Simone. The confinement of my job as an editor was weighing me down, and I wanted to print my design and paste it up in the street, a bit like a teenager decorating their room. So I found myself putting up a life-size Nina Simone in Paris. It was the first embryonic project, the first time I found myself artistically alone after years of collaborative work in a group. Alone in the street at two in the morning, I felt a sense of liberation. When I got home, I had this kind of satisfaction, like at the end of a concert, the satisfaction of having done the work. That's what I look for in art, those little moments of grace and peace. A few weeks later I created more visuals, and I haven't stopped since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You stand out for your curiosity in very different artistic practices.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's a cultural binge, a need to fill myself up, because the imagination of others is incredible. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't been nourished by all those comics, films, books, and shows. It's also interesting to observe one's own capacity to create in reaction: after an emotional jolt from listening to a piece of music or reading a passage, I feel so charged that I need to externalize it in turn through artistic practice. These emotions that come through art are extremely precious to me: I remember perfectly my first time listening to John Coltrane; I can recount it in detail. There are many artists whose aesthetics I love but whose approach I'm less keen on, others whom I appreciate precisely for that, and those who manage to do both are role models for me, like Ernest Pignon-Ernest. The next projects I would like to develop in the street are precisely those that require different artistic practices: video, music, and of course writing, because I always come back to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE SEARCH FOR A VISUAL SIGNATURE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike other artists who had a defined visual signature from the start, you didn't begin with a pre-established style.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started without any real artistic awareness, motivated only by the desire to be outdoors and ask questions, either because I found it funny or because I needed to talk about something. I didn't even sign my very first collages. At first, it was a side activity, a moment of freedom I allowed myself; it became a full-time job later. Even though it's only been a short time, it means a great deal to me because there's a huge difference between what I was doing at the beginning and what I'm doing now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This evolution is manifested by the double shift from color to black and white and from visual to drawing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With work also came my interest in the practice itself, and especially that of other artists: what do they do and why? Who does what in the street? By observing them or meeting them, I was able to understand their approaches, how they worked. I started with pre-existing images that I modified, evolving into unique collages that are painted. This evolution stemmed both from my own desires and from interacting with others. When you're pasting up printed posters, there comes a point where you wonder if you can't give more. This notion of giving is interesting because we always ask ourselves what we're offering others: a work of art, a whim, a state of mind? Painting has been a way to continue exploring what I wanted to do. As for black and white, it's the only graphic signature I've almost always maintained since the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you think some of your pieces will be more memorable, whether they stand out because of their shape, where they are placed or the time of the collage? Your March 8th mural on women's rights stands out because of its size.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a unique project, completed over almost three years. Initially, the process was quick: I organized a photo shoot with about twenty women, including close friends, friends of friends, and even strangers we happened to be passing that day. Several things happened that prevented me from completing the first version for March 8th, but I believe it was important to put up the mural on that date so it could resonate and be more sensitive to the issue. The idea for this mural, featuring women, stemmed from several accounts of harassment shared by my sister and friends over a period of just a few weeks. Unfortunately, men are too often in denial about gender equality and street harassment. They struggle to grasp this reality, which isn't their own, to accept that it exists and that it's sadly possible. It's a subject I felt the need and desire to address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pasted it up on March 8th in broad daylight at 10:00 AM with a few women who had participated in the project and some friends. Around 11:30 AM, the police arrived, apparently alerted by a neighbor. They asked us to stop and take everything down because we didn't have permission. I started negotiating because I wanted it to exist, even if only for 24 hours. It was also several months of work that they were asking me to throw away. The subject matter and the date were clearly in our favor, and the police granted us permission to finish on the condition that it be removed the next day. A few hours later, after we'd finished pasting it up, I tried to save the mural by calling the town hall of the 11th arrondissement.e<\/sup>. The people I spoke to on the phone seemed sympathetic to this type of action, and the mural was eventually legalized by the town hall after they made sure that the section of wall was indeed the property of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for whether this collage will leave a lasting impression, I don't know, it certainly made an impression on me\u2026 The idea behind this project was to do my part and to participate in highlighting street harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of its specific features is that it was not part of a series, unlike many of your creations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had just finished the first chapter of Idiomatic Expressions<\/em>. I wanted to take a break, and with three months between January and March to prepare the mural, I went for it. It's true that it's not part of a series, but I had already addressed gender equality in some of my collages. It's a subject that, as long as it needs to be addressed, should be. I asked myself a lot of questions before starting this project, talking beforehand with my partner, my mother, and my sister, to find out if I should do it, if, as a man, I could speak out. Ultimately, once the mural was up, almost all the feedback was positive. By wondering if what you're doing will be liked, or if you should do it, you start censoring yourself, whereas the essence of street art is being able to express yourself freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You seem to have given up on being immediately identifiable (in the absence of a recurring visual motif), in order to work more on research and meaning.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I create primarily for myself, and if tomorrow I realize I can continue my life with my own unique graphic style, I won't stop myself. But if I'm honest with myself, I know I won't be able to work with one graphic style my whole life, because I envision each series with an ending and its own distinct visual identity. I could potentially do the Idiomatics <\/em>Infinitely, because it would be possible to go abroad and deploy the same system in different languages, or to continue in France for a few years. But that doesn't interest me at all. In fact, the graphic identity of a series doesn't matter; for me, the most important thing is to convey an emotion, to tell a story. I hope that one day my work will be recognized for the subjects I address and the way I tell them. Looking back, I realize that in the songs I wrote ten years ago, I was dealing with the same themes as now. It's this attention to the subject, this desire to convey a message, that is truly my signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE CHOICE OF COLLAGE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you choose collage?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a practical note: when I started, I didn't draw\u2014and I still don't consider myself an artist today. I knew how to use Photoshop, and it was easy for me to modify images and print them large. Collage seemed simpler and faster that way. Preparing the collages I make now in my studio sometimes takes me up to three days, time that's obviously impossible to spend in the street. That doesn't mean I'll always stick with this technique, but I like its ephemeral nature and the texture of the paper. I've learned to use thinner paper and to adjust the amount of paint so it doesn't absorb water in the same way. It's a continuous learning process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is your perspective on this ephemeral aspect?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, my goal was for the piece to be pasted up in the street. What happened afterward was none of my business. I consider my collages unfinished until they're actually installed. Then there was a period when I took it personally when some of my collages were torn down, vandalized, or taken over by advertising. Now I've returned to my original mindset: a collage can last two hours, six months, or a year. My goal is simply for it to exist; its duration doesn't matter to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's a question I also asked myself when I started working in a gallery: does my work deserve to last? If I paint something and put it in the street, it will remain ephemeral, so when this opportunity arose, I struggled to accept the idea that these works could be permanent. For me, there's a clear separation: what I do in the street is destined to disappear, what's in the gallery is meant to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does this mean that what matters to you happens off the street?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's actually the opposite; it's the street that motivates me and inspires me to create. That doesn't mean I value one setting more than another. The only difference is the medium used in a gallery, which is permanent, whereas a collage placed in the street won't remain intact for more than a year. The purpose is also different: while a piece is finished when I put it up in the street, in a gallery it's finished when the work is sold. I'll always have the canvas in mind until it's bought, wondering if I should rework it. I'm more likely to abandon a piece pasted on a wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you choose to glue unique pieces together?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I read Codex Urbanus's book, several things struck me, making me question my practice, particularly when he mentions the pitfall of pasting up photocopies. If someone perceives it that way, it means others might think the same. But I don't want people to walk past one of my collages, realize it's a photocopy, and then just walk away. They might not even try to understand what I meant, which is my sole intention. What interests me most about street art is the possibility of engaging passersby, of making emotional connections. In the case of the Idiomatics<\/em>, The visual had to be simple and subtle enough to pique the passerby's interest at a glance. If I manage to make them smile or think, or if someone understands what I was trying to do twenty minutes later on the subway, then the goal is achieved. Painting unique pieces also emphasizes that a proposal will only be made once, to encourage passersby to explore further if they are interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A SERIOUS JOB<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working in series allows you to exhaust a theme by exploring it in depth.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I number all my street art creations, from the very first ones to the present day. Instagram brings together everything I've posted, in that precise order, like a logbook. Initially, I didn't work in series at all; they were just one-off pieces that reflected my state of mind, as fickle as everyone else's. When I wrote the sentence \u00ab"Romanticism is a man's thing."\u00bb<\/em>, It was only supposed to appear once. I pasted the first image of the romantics a few months later, without necessarily looking for a connection. I then realized that with the phrase I was still talking about the same thing and I started to build a universe around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The series was born at that moment, comprising a total of about twenty pieces. The majority were installed only once, except for a few that had to be reinstalled three or four times. Upon returning from an artistic trip to the United States, it took me a long time to begin a new series. The Idiomatic Expressions <\/em>These ideas matured over several months, alongside the reading of Codex Urbanus's essay. This book Why is art in the street?<\/em> triggered a questioning: am I a street artist? Why do I do Street Art? Stopping printing to do painting also comes from this reading, because I wanted to move towards a more accomplished work, closer to the definition of the noble meaning of Art, both in discourse and in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working in series is both comfortable and difficult: comfortable because the main idea provides a framework, difficult because you have to find ways to reinvent yourself within that framework. A series has a beginning and an end, and that suits me; I can embark on a project for six months or a year, but I couldn't start a series without seeing the end or imagining its conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the <\/strong>Idiomatics<\/em><\/strong>, Writing was already present in your work, but in a different form. It's interesting to see how your use of it and your reflection on language have evolved. We then move from the slogan <\/strong>\u00ab"Romanticism is a man's thing."\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> to a graphic interpretation of language.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first art form I used to express myself was writing: I wrote stories, short stories, poetry, songs. When I started working on the idea for the series of Idiomatic Expressions<\/em> I wondered how to convey the meaning of words through an image. It was by imagining the expressions figuratively and narratively that I found an absurd, surreal, or sometimes poetic character in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a striking example, I created a collage almost at the beginning of my career near the Al\u00e9sia metro station, where the Rimbaut passage is located (with a T, so it's not the poet). Playing with sounds and recalling the story of Rimbaud and Verlaine, I arrived at Arthur Rainbow. This play on words is the origin of the graphic design of his portrait wearing a shirt in the colors of the LGBT flag. Ultimately, this shift in sound (Rimbaud, Rainbow) allows me to juxtapose the classicism of Rimbaud taught in schools with a reinterpretation of his image as a potential LGBT icon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words, therefore, served as the trigger. My ideas never come from images; they come from words, before I translate them graphically. That's why I don't consider myself a painter or illustrator; I don't create from my line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The series of <\/strong>Idiomatics <\/em><\/strong>It is also interesting because it allowed you to work on a unique character and on movement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many idiomatic expressions are actions (like \u00ab"At full speed"\u00bb<\/em>I wanted to translate things literally, making the expression absurd and leading to surrealism. The action of the sentence imposed the movement on me in this case; the same is true for \u00ab"To have a skeleton in your closet"\u00bb<\/em>. Words here compel us to create a scene. It was a new challenge allowing me to explore the realm of possibilities between words and images, just as it allowed me to work with other drawing and painting techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having a recurring character helps to give unity to the entire series.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The character who plays the face of the series is a friend, Romain Nouat, the publishing director of Black Cat <\/em>of Montmartre. It's a newspaper that was published in the 1800s, created by Rodolphe Salis, and which he relaunched a little over a year ago. I needed someone to embody the series, and I asked him to pose for me, to be "my muse," as we like to say. I also created a story for someone who would be responsible for testing idiomatic expressions. This personal narrative isn't real, but it allows me and helps me to think of this character as potentially multifaceted, at different ages or in disguise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

URBAN VIEW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your relationship to the street?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I admire the approach of certain people or artists who manage to create without waiting for the approval of others. For example, Vivian Maier, for whom the ultimate goal lay in the very act of taking the photograph, not in showing it, or even in developing the film. My approach is to exhibit my work in the street, because that's when it's complete. I need the idea that there might be a reaction, whatever it may be. What better way to achieve that than by placing a work in the street? I work almost exclusively illegally, because for me, that's an integral part of the process. Not needing to ask for permission allows you to be solely responsible for what you do. This total freedom to create in the street forces a stronger sense of self-reflection: alone with your own critical mind, doubt is amplified tenfold. Furthermore, there's also this beautiful idea of being able to say, "The walls are ours," to grant yourself a right, to break a rule. Street art presents a paradox within our society in that art of "vandalism" origin is prohibited by law, yet tolerated and even appreciated by many. In my opinion, there's a false myth surrounding the illegality of street art, because the space it occupies demonstrates a certain degree of freedom, unlike in other countries where it's very difficult to express oneself in the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you contextualize your pieces in the street?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I see the street as a space for expression. I might spot a wall that catches my eye and on which I can imagine a story. The architecture, the location, even the wall itself can inspire me, and it's generally thanks to this that works in dialogue with the\u2019in situ<\/em> add an even more interesting dimension. However, for most of the works in this series, I created the collages before looking for a wall to paste them on. When I pasted them up in the provinces, I prepared my paintings here in the studio, then walked around the city for several hours before returning to paste them up during the night. Searching for a wall that carries a specific meaning is very interesting, but the role left to chance is also important: when, in Orl\u00e9ans, I wanted to paste up a piece \u00ab"To smell the pine tree"\u00bb<\/em> I was thinking of putting it next to a church or a cemetery. Once there, I stumbled upon a wall right next to the funeral home: the combination of the collage and the surrounding context was perfect for creating some dark humor. It's great to be able to leave a little room for chance; sometimes it works out well, and sometimes it doesn't.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you consider Street art to be an artistic movement?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wouldn't call it an artistic movement or trend, because words and their definitions are complicated in the context of art history. I believe that street art and those who practice it must themselves reflect on what it is and how to define it. This is a task that Codex Urbanus began in his book, and I think it should be developed, discussed, and refined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your perspective on photography?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It serves a dual purpose. On the one hand, it's an artistic tool, as I photograph my various subjects to create a base before moving on to drawing or painting. On the other hand, it's a way to archive my work in the street. These are photos that I often want to be "neutral," and they serve to reproduce the collage in its environment as faithfully as possible. In my approach, the neutrality of the photography aims to give maximum space to the artwork, to what it is and what it can evoke. I'm not trying to create a beautiful image with careful framing that would only aestheticize it further. But we all know that it's difficult to achieve neutrality in photography, if only because of the time of day it's taken. That's why I think it's always best to see a collage with your own eyes.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JAERAYMIE – TRANSFORMER LES MOTS EN PEINTURE MURALE mai 2019 – 3809 mots PARCOURS Comment es-tu devenu artiste ? J\u2019ai commenc\u00e9 le Street art et le travail d\u2019illustration narratif il y\u2019a un peu plus de trois ans. Avant cela, j\u2019avais d\u2019autres moyens d\u2019expression, comme la musique et je travaillais dans la vid\u00e9o. J\u2019ai \u00e9t\u00e9 musicien, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":187,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions\/187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}