Le M.U.R | My Life On My Bike

Saturday, third day of November, a frozen autumn in Paris. A few days before the expected event that Le M.U.R association is promoting starting on November 8th, involving more than 50 street artists for an exhibition plus live performances, I joined the spray paint performance of the French street artist M. Chat promoted by the Le M.U.R XVIII.

In front of the Seine, on the end of the afternoon entering the night, cold one. One event where just lovers of street art who could bear the feeling of their feet freezing while M.Chat was drawing his lines in details before finishing his remarkable yellow cat with a big smile on the roofs of Paris surrounded by a hopeful and beautiful blue sky.

M. Chat painting Le M.U.R XVIII
Photo: Fernanda Hinke

M. Chat for Le M.U.R XVIII
Photo: Fernanda Hinke

M. Chat started to paint in Orléans, France in 1997, on chimneys, roofs, and train platforms. He kept his identity anonymous for 10 years, when in 2007 he was caught in the act of creating the cat. He was documented by the film maker Chris Marker in 2004, named Chats Perchés (The Case of the Grinning Cat). In 2010 M.Chat had more than 60 cats on the streets of Paris during one time for an exhibition.

M. Chat on the roofs of Montmartre
Photo: Fernanda Hinke

M. Chat at Pont EPhémère in Paris
Photo: Fernanda Hinke

For the event Le M.U.R de L’Art that will happen during this week, My Life on My Bike and Alternative Paris crew will be covering with creative and alternative journalism the most important moments of this exciting exhibition updating information every day with videos, photos and articles. Be sure to check out our website every day during this week!

Beyond the 50 artists will be exposing their art work on canvas, with performances and installations. Every day there are three performances, workshops, music and the presentation of the “400 ML Project”. 400 spray cans customized by 400 international artists over the last years.

Come enjoy with us Le M.U.R de L’Art at l’Espace d’animation des Blancs Manteaux, located at rue 48 Vieille du Temple, Paris, between the 8th and 11th of November. For more information click here.

On the beginning of my first Parisian autumn, yesterday I went to Le M.U.R to check on Kashink artistic performance. Women are quite rare on street-art world, so it was wonderful to meet someone like her. Wearing a t-shirt with a work of Jean-Michel-Basquiat, an atypical mustache in her delicate face and distributing sincere smiles for everybody make her performance even special to the audience appreciating her hands sliding with spray cans in sweet colors drawing her unmistakable characters.

Kashink performance at Le M.U.R

Kashink paints huge protean figures with multiple eyes, men mostly, or skulls in Mexico, all in a colorful graphic style, away from traditional references of female graffiti. She is inspired by Frida Kahlo, the Bad Painting Basquiat and Keith Haring . Among the themes that are usual to her, there are taboo subjects in our society, such as homosexuality, women’s status, or death.

Kashink work in progress at Le M.U.R

In this painting on Le M.U.R she putted the number 13 as the third eye of her character, her number of luck, she explained me. She also wrote the phrase “Okay Mom I will”, which for her is the story about a Mom concerning with his son and his response boring but positive. What she really like, is when people look for her drawings in a way to stimulating their creativity and create their own stories.

Kashink performance at Le M.U.R

Kashink

Le M.U.R is always a friendly place to meet friends and lovers for street-art. A meeting point to review special people and also exchange about urban art. I guess Kashink painted for more than 8 hours in total the huge panels of 6x4m. I enjoyed 3 hours of her work after been chilled by the cold autumn sensation on the air. Sadly I left before she finished the work yesterday, then I came back this morning to take pictures of the work.

Kashink work in progress this morning

Kashink – “Okay Mom I will”

Thanks to a beautiful surprise from the Universe, this morning, while writing this article beside Le M.U.R at Charbon Café I met Kashink again finishing the work that was supposed to be finished yesterday. I had the pleasure to talk with her again and have her explanation about this work. I asked her to sign my bike and as always, smiling she gave me this beautiful gift!!!

Kashink for Le M.U.R

Kashink signing my bike

Kashink

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Tag Archives: Le M.U.R

M. Chat performance and Le M.U.R de L’ Art exhibition

13 – Kashink number of luck!