PARIS – The City of Lights is a visual feast, from the Seine below, to the sidewalk cafes, to the mansard roofs overhead. The wandering eye lands on works of art at every turn: sculptures, bridges, fountains, Space Invaders. Wait, what?
If you spend much time promenading Parisian streets, eventually you’ll spot at least one of more than a thousand brightly colored tile mosaics that are scattered throughout the city.
They are the result of a worldwide “invasion” that began in 1998, the brainchild of an anonymous French street artist who is known only by his pseudonym, Invader. The moniker is a reference to his favorite subject: Space Invaders aliens from the classic arcade game. The 46-year-old career street artist has remained incognito while installing more than 3,000 unique mosaics around the world.
In Paris alone, the prolific artist has placed 1,182 mosaics, at least that’s what he reported late last year when I visited his outpost in the outskirts. In his 1,600-square-foot workshop, Invader continually designs and constructs pixelized works that range from the size of a paperback to commanding 8-foot-high portraits.
Invader feels embraced by his hometown. “I think they have accepted me as a cultural interest for the city,” he said. “Most people, if they wake up in the morning and see a Space Invader on their building, they are happy.”
Over the decades, the artist has built a lucrative career from his illicit medium, selling his work in galleries, accepting public commissions and selling one copy, or “alias,” of each of his street pieces, starting at $15,000. In 2015, with an assist from the European Space Agency, he placed a small mosaic in the International Space Station.
Although he’s not entirely predictable (the No. 1 trait of any street artist), his signature spot in Paris is near the classic, blue street signs on the corners of buildings, a good reminder to lift your eyes on your next stroll through Paris.
And the next?
“There are still some good spots waiting for my intervention,” he says.
