Street Artists reinvented themselves during coronavirus lockdown

I will not, as many media have already done it, make a Top 50 of Street Art works inspired by the Coronavirus lockdown! Personnaly seeing all those masks in the streets of Paris is unpleasant enough, even if it is more than necessary. So showing you 50 Street Art works including surgical masks doesn’t seem really interesting to me. During this lockdown, it is obvious that Street Artists had to adapt their way of working. Some painted on canvas, others on their windows, and the most daring went to defy the prohibitions to paint on the street. Stresses, anxieties, impossibility of expressing themselves on the streets,… inspired certain artists and forced them to reinvent their way of working. From this introspection is born a series of images; sometimes poetic, sad, funny,… simply beautiful. So I selected 5 Street Artists who have very different backgrounds and I promise you; you will not see any surgical mask or virus in this article!

Isolation: a daily inspiring series produced by the French artist Philippe Hérard

He is certainly the artist who worked the most on introspection during this lockdown period. he offered us a new artwork on cardboard from his Isolation series on Facebook every day! An appointment that I never missed because his works are poetic, sometimes funny or just out of the ordinary. We can find on those : Isolation, distance, boredom, fantasy,… so many things that resonated in us during this period! Feelings that are not ready to fade! I strongly advise you to explore his work full of sensitivity.

 

Sara Erenthal, a feminist artist who developed Covid humour on the streets of Brooklyn

I discovered her very graphic work with punchy messages during my report at the Bushwick Collective in Brooklyn. Her commitment has not weakened; she starts the beginning of this lockdown painting on a window of her apartment. And then she quickly went out, as usual, to paint on all the supports available for her in the streets: mattresses, fridges, old wooden planks,… Her works are often loaded by passers-by or end up in a bucket trash! She distilled the thoughts we all had during this difficult period, with delicacy and above all a very nice dose of humour. Go take a look on her  Instagram to discover all the messages distilled during this terrible lockdown period.

Spanish Street Artist Pejac launches « Stay Art Home » project and invite people to paint their windows

I came across this revival Magritte’s work named Golconde. The most well known man with a hat is now wearing a mask on Pejac’s window. With this message “I believe that one of the best therapies to fight anxiety, or boredom, can be creativity. I have always believed as well, that there is an artist inside everyone.
I encourage you to create your own “window series”, true urban art at home. Let your imagination fly and post the result on social networks. Every piece of work counts to create an antidote against monotony.
The pictures you send to my profile will be shared. Together we will defeat this virus!” ; Pejac invites people to create inventive and very poetic works. to help them, he even post a short tutorial on his Facebook. You can discover his creations and those of anonymous on his Instagram account or just do a research with #stayarthomepejac. A great initiative that has been praised by the Spanish press!

The Art on Trash: a super idea daily made by the French artist RNST in Dijon

You are going to tell me that this is not the first time you have seen Street Art in a Trash can; but a project that is being rolled out day by day in all the bins of a district is a novelty! The artist has succeeded in bringing art to the streets when the trash are putting outside to be picked up. for his #poubellelavie (poubelle mean trash in French) he painted more than 59 garbage cans from his neighbours with very expressive characters as he is used to. Works that must have certainly pleased garbage collectors and happy owners of trash! The whole series is visible on his Instagram, and it worth the detour!

 

The French Artist Jordane Saget deconfines the views from ours windows with his “Lockdown view” series!

He used to work with chalk in Paris and its surroundings; its curves and convolutions are recognizable among all. Confined in his home with no material for drawing; he asks via his social network that we send him photos  of the views from our windows.  The answers are quick and he starts working on hundreds of photos. This time it is with digital tools that he reinvests the urban space with unusual angles of views for him. The result is magnificent photos that are going to be published in a book sold for the benefit of “Les Restos du Coeur”; a french association making meals for homeless or poor people. His album « vue de confinement » is a must to rediscover Paris and its outskirts.

 

And now it’s my turn to free myself !

Just like you I experienced this confinement / lockdown, and I am not the most reassured at the idea of taking the Parisian subway! But after talking to you about Street Artists’ commitment to donate funds to caregivers, their cool free coloring books for cherubs; the moment for me to take back my camera in search of Street Art within a security perimeter of 100 Kilometers is now!

It is obvious that my walks in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens are not ready to reproduce and that I will not see the next artist who will paint the Houston Bowery Wall either. Travel is not for now! But I’m sure I will find you some pretty nice Street Art getaways around Paris!

French Street Artists, like Pimax, are already in the Street since the 11th of May with their Spray on hands! My turn to join them 😉

See you soon for new Street Art adventures!