British artist D*Face (covered) has just completed his second mural in Paris, at 155 boulevard Vincent Auriol, part of the ongoing open air museum in the 13th District with Street Art 13 Mural program.
This is the mural version of his painting ‘Turncoat‘, here on 25 meters high and 15 meters wide. This monumental work marks a departure in D*Face’s work. The portrait is made from a blue colour palette, while most of its pieces are based on a plurality of colors.
The artist, explained it as follows: “The colour scheme is new to me, it’s a new direction, each artist goes through his blue period, at the moment it must be my turn. . ” This palette represents a certain melancholy in his view of the world. The woman lips are tinted with a vibrant electric red, highlighting her power of seduction while her frowning brows and rebellious hair show her strong temperament. D*Face also added his signature wings and pop imagery to the mural.
In parallel, the original painting ‘Turncoat’ is currently visible at the new solo exhibition ‘Fornever‘ at Galerie Itinerrance until 19 May.
Shepard Fairey unveiled his latest work “Earth Crisis”: a giant sphere suspended between the first and second floor of the Eiffel Tower, a call to action to address the global environmental crisis. Visible from November 20 to 26th, it is a strong artistic gesture for Paris that will host the World Conference on climate change COP21.
This project designed and implemented by Gallery Itinerrance comes from the combination of resolute commitment of the artist, the Mayor of Paris and the operating company of the Eiffel Tower, in favor of sustainable development. The sphere, called “Earth Crisis,” weighs 2.3 tons and displays 8 meters in diameter for a printed surface area of over 200 meters squared. Suspended more than 60 meters above the ground, it is a strong call to reflection on the future of our planet and the threats to its sustainability.
“My political stance on protecting the planet is driven by my concern for the quality of life for future generations. I’m not an alarmist, but I do think people need to understand that we are facing an earth crisis. I think it is exciting that the globe provides different experiences for the viewer from a distance and up close while living in the heart of the Eiffel Tower. I hope the Earth Crisis Globe appeals visually but also generates a needed conversation about the fate of our planet.” -Shepard
‘Public art has the power to engage people emotionally and intellectually. The Earth Crisis Globe is a mandala designed to provide a unified ornamental structure that evokes floral motifs and harmony with nature. Housed within the mandala’s shields are images that symbolize both threats to nature and incitement to respect it. The mandala images, composed of climate change and environmentally themed graphics, are positioned to raise awareness and provoke discussions about the Earth’s future. The colors used in the globe design connect blue and green of air, water, and vegetation that allow the earth to sustain life. ‘
Shepard Fairey explains in details the panels of the Earth Crisis Globe:
EARTH CRISIS
My political stance on protecting the planet is driven by my concern for the quality of life for future generations. When I look at the motives of those who deny climate change, they are not driven by a quest for truth, but by greed or, in the case of politicians, the benefit of aligning themselves with certain corporate donors. The correlation between Carbon emissions and climate change is virtually unanimous in the scientific community. I’m not an alarmist, but I do think people need to understand that we are facing an earth crisis. If you aren’t a bit concerned about climate change, what will it take… NYC and Bangladesh under water?
ENDLESS POWER
The Endless Power image is designed to feel like a vintage ad celebrating the abundance of gasoline and the bright future of the American Dream. The claim that petrol provides an unlimited future is a snapshot of the overly-optimistic wish that oil is unlimited. Oil is finite and a major factor in climate change, but reliance on it is so extreme that the power wielded by those who control oil is virtually unlimited. Scientists hired by fossil fuels corporations represent the 1% minority of the scientific community who claim that oil and gas don’t contribute to climate change. These are the same scientists who, if paid, would claim that smoking cures asthma or that gas fumes are a cure-all lung tonic.
EARTH CRISIS
My political stance on protecting the planet is driven by my concern for the quality of life for future generations. When I look at the motives of those who deny climate change, they are not driven by a quest for truth, but by greed or, in the case of politicians, the benefit of aligning themselves with certain corporate donors. The correlation between Carbon emissions and climate change is virtually unanimous in the scientific community. I’m not an alarmist, but I do think people need to understand that we are facing an earth crisis. If you aren’t a bit concerned about climate change, what will it take… NYC and Bangladesh under water?
GREEN POWER
Green Power was created as part of my Power & Glory series. The series explores various notions of power and glory in terms of industry, authority, energy, the environment, politics, vice, and virtue. Many of my Power & Glory images critique fossil fuels and explore their accompanying oil and gas iconography as symbols of what literally and metaphorically drives America. Green Power was one of the images from the series in support of green energy. Rather than subsidizing dirty fossil fuels, tax revenues should be supporting research and development for renewable power sources.
RESPECT AND JUSTICE
The Respect & Justice image is a call to celebrate, respect, and nurture the planet. The inter-dependence of earth’s eco-systems inspired the concept of Gaia, or the earth as one organism with a respiratory system. The earth’s delicate respiratory system can be thrown dangerously out of balance by climate change. True justice for the earth and future generations of all species can only be achieved by respecting the fragility of the eco-systems that sustain life. The future is in our hands.
PAINT IT BLACK
Paint it Black Hand is inspired by the Rolling Stones song and is about oil influencing too much of U.S. energy policy and foreign policy. Imagine if all the money spent on wars and strategic interests in the Middle East had been spent on developing green energy alternatives. Instead, the government subsidizes the highly profitable oil and gas industries for billions a year because no politician wants a rise in the price of gas to be blamed on them. The need for gas will remain, but countries and companies need to invest in sustainable energy alternatives to help with the transition away from the finite supply of fossil fuels that are also responsible for CO2 emissions and climate change.
LIFEGUARD NOT ON DUTY
This Lifeguard Not On Duty image was inspired by vintage scenic postcards and some old photos I saw of oil derricks down the beach on the California coast. There are still oil drilling platforms visible from the beach in Santa Barbara where there have been several oil spills. Beyond just the environmental hazards of oil spills and climate change, Lifeguard Not On Duty is also about our collective lack of foresight in transitioning away from oil, which is finite, to energy sources which are renewable. The tide will turn, and the question is whether the worldwill be technically equipped to adapt.
GLOBAL WARMING
The Global Warning image was inspired by watching my wife Amanda sunbathe with a newspaper over her face. I imagined the irony of newspaper headlines about climate change while the sunbather remains blissfully ignorant while the warnings about global warming are literally right in front of her face! I photographed my wife on the spot to make an illustration and then I had fun critiquing the right-wing climate change deniers in the satirical newspaper articles. Considering the magnitude of climate change, it is surpring that it does not make newspaper headlines with greater frequency.
SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT
This image was originally created in the late 90’s for an organization called Save Our Environment which was founded by Mike D of the Beastie Boys. At the time, wind energy was becoming more cost-effective, and therefore viable, as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. Wind is actually free, so the biggest challenge to implementing wind turbines is the up-front cost. I think the investment in wind energy to save our environment is well worth it. I designed this image to suggest that windmills or turbines are iconic symbols of a healthy earth.
Pictures by Aline Deschamps, Milan Poyet, SETE/ E.Livine for Galerie Itinerrance and the artist
Following our earlier coverage of Shepard Fairey’s monumental mural in Paris ( see here), on day 2 the Obey Giant team starts working on the flower at the top right of the building. Having tried the cherry picker myself, it’s very windy specially at such height (40 meters high).
Due to the enormous size of the wall, an authorisation from the local authorities was needed. However this entire project has been totally unfunded and all the participants and organisers have volunteered, so we would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the contributors for their time, hard work and making this happen:
Shepard Fairey, the Obey Giant team with Dan, Nick and Z, the organisers with Mehdi from Galerie Itinerrance, Jerome Coumet from Mairie du 13e, Butterfly as well as Mahmoud Belakhel, Ingrid Zeller, Matthieu Soudet, Romain Paget, Julien Hogert, Jonathan Ricquebourg, Rebecca Topakian, Pierre Bézard, Laura Fernandes, Maïa, Marouène, Valentine Poutignat, Julien Soudet, Felipe Quintelas, Fabio Caldironi, Kan, Sowat, Herve, Hugo Vitriani, Patrice Grellet, Philippe Langlois and the residents of the building.
When I met Mehdi from Galerie Itinerrance in Paris at the Mausolee exhibition, little did I know that we would be involved in an ambitious project with Shepard Fairey a few weeks later. Working jointly with the Mairie of 13th district and the local community on a project called Street Art 13, they help regenerate the area by providing big walls to talented artists. After seeing this massive 14 storey building, I joined the project and we agreed that it would be awesome to have an Obey mural in Paris. Luckily Shepard Fairey was not only interested, but also wanted to paint the wall instead of putting paste-ups. So exciting!!!
Shepard and the Obey Giant team are operating on a very tight schedule, in between the opening of the Levi’s Store in the Champs Elysees and the temperamental weather. So French artists Sowat and Kan from DMV crew, Mehdi and myself can’t resist joining in to help for the first layer of red.
Shepard begins his stencil process, and the woman’s face starts to take shape.
The mural design is taken from Obey’s artwork called Rise Above Rebel.
Shepard Fairey’s mural is located on 93 rue Jeanne d’Arc, 75013 Paris.
Metro: National
More pics from Butterfly added daily here
Here is a timelapse video by Mahmoud Belakhel
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