A VILLAGE IN THE CITY

We visited Boulevard Paris 13 in early May this year, we had heard about the project and really wanted to see the huge murals. The area has a real village feel, even though you are in the heart of Paris, as soon as you step off the Metro at the Nationale station on line 6, you are greeted by murals, in fact you catch glimpses of them between the buildings as the Metro makes its way above ground in this area.

Art In Daily Life

The works of art in this area seem to have become part of the fabric of daily life. Whichever way you turn you find more, and it is obviously a draw for visitors into the area, with guided walking tours and school trips checking out the murals. But there is a real sense that this is art for the people, and it is not just for the tourists. You can see that there is a lot of local pride in having these creations here. We spoke to a local lady who was pointing out where we could get the best views of the different works, she obviously loved the art and was keen to share her knowledge with visitors.

We passed a very pleasant morning, wandering, taking photos and admiring the murals. Honestly, the scale is just huge and so impressive, if you are visiting Paris, take a couple of hours to experience the Boulevard Paris 13 project for yourself, you really need to get amongst it and see it first hand to really appreciate the skill and work that goes into creating these masterpieces. As well as the large works by well known artists you will see many others, including under your feet.

Whilst we didn’t see every mural this time, we will go back again, like any good gallery there is always something new to see.

Here are some of our favourite murals.

Cryptik - Untitled

The artist Cryptik, who specialises in calligraffiti, covered the Maruani bookshop with this work. It is a poem by the writer William Saroyan, written with letters inspired by medieval scriptures. The bookshop also has a decrypted version that you can read.

Turncoat, a 25 m high work was painted by the English artist D*Face in 2018. The signature D*Face wings are escaping from her hair and the artist describes as “dominant, almost angry”.

Shepard Fairey - Liberté, égalité, fraternité Shepard Fairey is one of America’s greatest and best known urban artists. In support of the victims of the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, he created a monumental work that pays tribute to the motto of the French Republic. The words “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” frame a ‘Marianne’ against a background of the French flag. A copy on canvas of this work was commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron for his office at the Élysée.

D*Face - Love won’t tear us apart

Covering the side of a tall building and partially obscured by trees, the 1950s style couple in Love won’t tear us apart are reminiscent of the works of Roy Lichtenstein.

The artist D*Face has stated that it is important that the public should interpret the work in their own way, as, for him, the imagination of viewers often produces explanations much more interesting than his own.

BToy - Evelyn Nesbit

BToy is a Barcelona stencil artist who pays tribute to female icons of the last century. Here, she created a portrait of the American reviewer and model Evelyn Nesbit (1884-1967).