{"id":30,"date":"2017-01-01T22:54:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-01T22:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/?p=30"},"modified":"2026-06-28T20:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T20:57:08","slug":"codex-urbanus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/codex-urbanus\/","title":{"rendered":"CODEX URBANUS"},"content":{"rendered":"

BESTIARY OF CHIMERA RUN FREE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FIRST STEPS AND TECHNIQUE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When did you first become interested in street art?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I came to it late because it took me a while to realize that things were happening on the walls. I don't subscribe to art magazines, and while I do watch art documentaries, there were very few about street art at the time. It was by discovering paintings in the street that I realized something was going on. I really became aware of it by the canal, when I saw what dAcRuZ was managing to do by bringing people together around his large murals. It was mind-blowing, like miniature Sistine Chapels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

I've always drawn, whether on my school papers or on my phone, but never on walls. In 2009, I quit my corporate job to work in the street, but I missed paper. At the same time, I discovered all these artists, like dAcRuZ and Seyb, and I realized that nothing was stopping me from doing the same thing. That's how one evening I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at street art. It took root, but it could have been different, because many who start end up giving up. At first, I tried making collages, but I got bored with it: what I really enjoyed was drawing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you choose your technique and materials? Was it a choice dictated by the nature of your work?   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I've always drawn with whatever pens I had on hand, whether it was my fountain pen or a Bic. Obviously, it's impossible to use them on the wall. So I had to adapt and discovered paint markers, which quickly became my tools of the trade. Working with spray paint was out of the question for two reasons: first, I didn't have the technique, which is quite specific; second, I often work late and never know what time I'll be out on the street drawing. I couldn't carry around a stash of spray paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you choose your walls and why do you prefer to paint over the Korrigan paint used by the city's maintenance workers to "erase" them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three reasons for this: I have too much respect for the cut stone to deface it. I believe that graffiti, however beautiful, has no place on a Haussmannian building. I have immense respect for what was built in the past, and it's disrespectful to the artists to cover up their work. The second reason is practical: the cut stone is granular, and Posca markers don't last long on such a surface. This leads us to the third reason, which is Korrigan paint. The city repaints the walls with this beautiful satin beige, which has an exceptional feel and, after a few coats, transforms a rough wall into a pleasant work surface. Sometimes the city repaints the cut stone with this shade: in that case, I'm in my element, so I paint over it from time to time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as I don't paint on ancient sculptures, I never vandalize other street artists' work. Paris is big enough; there are enough walls without having to step on each other's toes. I find it disrespectful; it's not my culture. Another form of vandalism is... spot joker<\/em> (or photobombing), which consists of positioning oneself next to another person, like when someone in the Marais stuck a pair of underpants right next to one of my creations. But it's perfectly possible to work together through collaborations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE URBANUS CODEX<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your artist name has gradually become the name of your work. How did you choose it?        <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, it's the other way around; Codex was never my name! My first attempts at collage were porcelain plaques on which I painted animals. They were signed AJT. I quickly abandoned this technique because these plaques were very heavy to carry, difficult to glue, and people would steal them. That's why I switched to drawing on walls, which I signed Tlatloc, my cataphile name, because I wanted to remain anonymous, especially since the nature of the offense I was committing had changed: while collage is a minor offense, drawing is a more serious one. In each case, I wrote the name of the project, Codex Urbanus, or "urban manuscript," because it's a kind of medieval grimoire of fantastic animals on concrete. What I hadn't imagined was that, by seeing this inscription so often, people would call me Codex. The first person to exhibit my work \u2013 Patrick Chaurin of Cabinet d'amateur \u2013 contacted me using that name, and Codex became my name for my first exhibition. But I think this is true for many artists: did Le Cyklop or M.Chat choose their names themselves?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why choose to represent a bestiary, that is, a repertoire of real or imaginary animals?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my notebooks, even as a child, there were already lots of monsters and animals. Lots of cities too, but they're harder to draw. When I started street art, I wanted to create a coherent project, so that each drawing would be a building block that would motivate me to continue. Since it had to be done quickly because it was illegal, creating a cityscape seemed impossible. Therefore, a bestiary emerged as the ideal solution, because a creature is always different and takes less time. By drawing one creature at a time, I also reduced my chances of getting caught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you adopt this very simple style in the drawing? Was it to adapt it to your subject?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, it's more like a style chose me. The first time I drew on a wall in the street, I knew I was making a final impression. I draw without technique, with a somewhat naive style that's my signature, but which also evokes ancient bestiaries containing never-before-seen animals that challenge the imagination. This lack of technique also allows for greater speed in execution. When I work in a gallery, the style is recognizable, but the drawing is more elaborate because I have more time. The third, crucial point is that I don't want to prepare my interventions. For me, street art is defined above all by its freedom. This freedom doesn't compromise with permissions, the expectations of others, or even personal expectations. I don't have to make preparatory copies; the pleasure of creating a creature on a wall is more than enough for my process. I even accept the possibility of failure: there are some Codex pieces that didn't quite work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most street artists use a specific design to become recognizable because it's an advantage to be immediately identifiable on the street. Wasn't it risky to change the motif for each piece?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was aware that I needed to be quickly identifiable for two reasons: people on the street have very little time, and if they don't know who the artist is, they'll miss it. Street art is an art of the gimmick, where each artist has a motif they repeat: it's an idea that can be found in other art forms, like Buren's stripes, Othoniel's Murano glass beads, or Venet's rusted beams. However, recognition came later. It was secondary in my early days, and I couldn't imagine what it would become. I wanted to enjoy myself and for people to perceive the coherence of my project, but not necessarily for them to associate it with the person of Codex. I couldn't always repeat the same character like Mr. Cat. A bestiary, therefore, allowed me to be both diverse and coherent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you adapt your work according to the time you have available?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the street, legal walls allow for more time, especially for painting a background. On these walls, I had a lot of fun working with gold paint, because it evokes illuminated manuscripts by imbuing the drawing with a sacred quality. Moreover, the use of this color is quite unexpected in the street. I believe I'm still the only one today working on a gold background. It gives the impression of an icon. There's also a somewhat alchemical aspect to what I do: starting with a dilapidated wall or a vacant lot and transforming it is a bit like turning lead into gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does your work differ in the gallery?  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference starts with the medium: we're leaving the wall to draw on paper, wood, canvas. It's exhilarating to be able to work with a pen again because it's my original tool. But I'm somewhat constrained by my street art because I exhibit as a street artist. It's Codex who exhibits, never the person behind the work, which could later become a limitation I'd like to overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classification, however, is completely different. The Codex Urbanus is reserved for the street, because without it, it wouldn't be urban. In the gallery, there's a great deal of demand, and I'm regularly asked to create creatures with a Latin name and a number. If the creature existed in the street, I can recreate it with its original identification, but the numbering in the gallery isn't as consistent. Furthermore, I also try to show something other than the bestiary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gallery raises another question: how do people collect my work? Street artists can afford to sell the same things at exhibitions as they do on the street, but I would be incapable of reproducing the exact same drawing. This problem is shared by graffiti artists. Unless I buy a wall, my outdoor work is impossible to collect except through photographs. How do you collect graffiti? No one has the answer. You can either paint directly on canvas, reproduce a section of a mural like Moyoshi does, or sell... black books<\/em>, which bring together graffiti projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INFLUENCES IN ART HISTORY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other key dimension of your work is the written word: indeed the work is composed of both the drawing and the name of the creature, taken from Linnaeus' classification of species.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it's a set. Each entry in the Codex Urbanus has four elements: the mention Codex Urbanus<\/em> which links it to the grimoire; the creature itself; its number; its binomial name in Latin, which provides information about the animals that were crossbred. The structure has always been the same, even when I painted on porcelain. Generally, the name explains what one sees because I don't try to adhere to reality when I draw, but rather to my vision of things. My image of a bison isn't exactly as it actually is, but it's the one I reproduce. The result won't necessarily resemble a real bison, hence the presence of the binomial name, which allows the animal that makes up the chimera to be identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why choose the word codex, which has a strong historical meaning?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A codex is a manuscript, and that's exactly what I'm doing with handwriting. The most famous ones always refer to things that are somewhat mysterious, almost alchemical. We could, for example, mention the Aztec and Mayan codices, which are fantastic, with rituals of witchcraft, deities, and sacrifices. The Codex seraphinianus<\/em>, <\/em>a book from the 1970s written by Luigi Serafini in a language that no one can translate and containing fascinating surrealist drawings. Finally, one obviously thinks of the Codex Atlanticus <\/em>which is the sum of all of Leonardo da Vinci's drawings. I wanted to create the equivalent in Street Art of this kind of work, except that instead of writing it on parchment I draw it on walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your work therefore has an encyclopedic aspect. However, the purpose of an encyclopedia is a comprehensive inventory. Does your project therefore include a final, overall representation?  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, the question of publishing the bestiary will arise. Urban art is meant to be ephemeral and found in the street, but I certainly hope that one day I'll have a comprehensive compilation of all the creatures drawn on the walls. However, there's still a lot of work to be done before I have a complete vision for this project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON THE STREET ART<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the book <\/strong>A vandal bestiary<\/em><\/strong>, You defend the principle of the vandal according to which <\/strong>\u00ab"Illegality protects art from external influences."\u00bb<\/em><\/strong>. Could you elaborate on that, and on how you actually conceive of the legal side of Street art (authorized walls, commissioned works).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two aren't necessarily compatible. Authorized walls fascinate me because of their size, as they're often created with the help of grants or in collaboration with others. They're also much more stressful: when I'm facing a wall at two in the morning in Montmartre, I don't hesitate. At a festival with other artists who have a technical background, what I do is very different from what you usually see, yet there are expectations to meet. There are graffiti artists who create splendid, hyperrealistic pieces, while I'm there with a creation that, while certainly dreamlike, is more complex. You find this difference among traditional painters, like between Chagall and Quentin de La Tour. I'm very honored to paint legal walls, but I'm afraid of disappointing people and not living up to expectations. I bring an imaginative element that's a major draw for the people who follow and collect my work. I find it very difficult to get invited to street art festivals, whereas it's easier for me to exhibit in galleries or museums, where the standards regarding meaning and symbolism are higher. There are few street artists who could have exhibited at the Gustave Moreau Museum. It was this vision that opened the door for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What other principles do you consider essential in being a street artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illegality is the criterion sine qua non<\/em>. But street art must also be in the street. Some people forget this, labeling themselves as street artists even though they've never worked as such. The joy of free access is also important: you shouldn't be paid to create street art because the resulting expectations stifle your freedom. Furthermore, there's a criterion of territorial occupation: it takes place in a specific area and over a long period. When Daniel Buren pasted his stripes in the street for two months in 1970, that wasn't street art, but rather a marketing ploy. If he had done it for ten years, I wouldn't have said the same thing. For me, a street artist operates within a specific territory. Another thing that, while not defining street art, is a kind of pitfall, is monumentality. JR creates gigantic works, but for me, they represent a kind of negation of the genre. Conversely, while Banksy may have lost his attachment to a particular place, he continues to work illegally and on a street artist scale, still using stencils, which is interesting.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BESTIAIRE DE CHIM\u00c8RES EN LIBERT\u00c9 PREMIERS PAS ET TECHNIQUE Quand as-tu commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 t\u2019int\u00e9resser au Street art ? J\u2019y suis venu sur le tard car il m\u2019a\u00e9 fallu du temps pour r\u00e9aliser qu\u2019il se passait des choses sur les murs. Je ne suis pas abonn\u00e9 \u00e0 des revues d\u2019Art et, si je regarde des documentaires […]<\/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":[27,26,28,7,30],"class_list":["post-30","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bestiaire","tag-dessin","tag-ephemere","tag-france","tag-paris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30","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=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions\/264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qgdesartistes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}