Our cities have been secretly invaded. Those “space invaders” continuously expand their domination all over the physical world. They might be in your city, or even just beside you. Did you see them?
Invader, a mysterious French street artist, was born in 1969 in Paris. He graduated from Paris School of Fine Arts (École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris). Invader got the inspiration from a video game he often played during his childhood called Space Invaders, published in 1978. Pixelated mosaic ceramic tile of his artworks resembles the nostalgia of graphic video games and that generation. Invader install artworks in cities without any notification in advance. In the last few years, he has installed more than 3,000 “invasion devices” worldwide. His unique style and idea of creation brought him international fame as a street artist.
Behind the mask, Invader’s identity remains unknown to the public. “What I do and create is more important than who exactly I am.” he said. Ever since he started his career in art in 1998, he has taken public spaces as “canvases” to present his street art, through which he gained his fame. At the moment, there are 79 cities around the world being “invaded” by his mosaic ceramic tile artworks, including his hometown Paris, where people could see his works mostly everywhere. Invader transforms the prototype of the game characters and pop culture into mosaic ceramic tile reproduction with vintage hard lines. The artworks and operation of Invader are known as contemporary art, street art, and graffiti at the same time. This kind of multiform creation sent a message to the audience that digital information in this age of fast-developing technologies is invading our everyday life, without our full awareness.
These graphics appear in downtowns with hustle and bustle, and at alleys with peace and quietness, or even in the ocean. Invader’s works have also been sent to outer space to realize their occupation as “space invaders”. In 2012, Invader announced his participation in Art 4 Space project. Via his friend, he contacted ESA (European Space Association) and spent 2 years discussing shipping his works to outer space. At the end, 8 pieces of his works were selected and installed in ESA’s architecture. 3 years later, on March twelfth 2015, his artwork Space 2 was installed in the ISS (International Space Station). Furthermore, below sea level in the Cancun Bay in Mexico, there are 2 of Invader’s works which he created with the help of British sculpture artist Jason DeCaires Taylor. What these works mentioned above have in common is that they show up at highly visible positions but barely get attention from people in the cities. Therefore, Invader considers bringing art into citizen’s daily life by challenging the operation of street art his mission.
Invader tags all his artworks around the world on the map and posts the map on the official website to inform followers of these works’ locations. He has also developed a mobile app with which users could upload the photo of the artworks they find in their cities to earn points and attend the competition. Users could also check their world ranking.
Unlike other art forms, street art is more controversial, more short-lasting, and more uncertain. They could easily fade exposing on the street with no protection at all. For instance, Invader’s work Bubble Bobble located on the wall of Hong Mei Building on Lai Chi Kok Rd., Hong Kong disappeared earlier this year. Including Bubble Bobble, totally 12 pieces of Invader’s artworks in Hong Kong are gone, according to the statistics. This happens from time to time. Invader’s artworks were once removed because it was an unofficial presentation in public space. As a street artist, Invader has to challenge the utilization of public space in order to really advocate his concept of “everyday art” and to let people get used to being surrounded by street art in their everyday life. In his opinion, only if people frequently approach different art forms in their everyday life, can they really appreciate his mosaic ceramic tile works.
Having such a stylish art form and remarkable achievements, Invader has become one of the well-known street artists internationally. His artworks have exhibited at le Musée en Herbe, Paris, France; HOCA Foundation, Hong Kong; Museums Quartier, Vienna, Austria; MOCA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA; Daejeon Museum of Arts, Daejon, South Korea; Musée Ingres et Musée du Louvres, Montauban, France; Borusan Center for Culture and Arts, Istanbul, Turkey; Mjelby Konstgard Museum, Halmstad, Sweden; and the Musée d’art contemporain, Lyon, France.
Photos © Invader
