Author: Seb Toussaint

This is the bridge I painted to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of my home city Caen (Normandy).

Each pattern or pictogram is a reference to a specific event of the city’s rich history. I painted them in chronological order, starting with the Middle Ages on the left, the 100-year war, the foundation of the University, and reaching the French Revolution in the middle of the bridge where I wrote the name of the city. Then further to the right patterns refer to the modern era, the industrial revolution, the foundation of the football club, the second war, and then the newest buildings like the 2 concert halls.

I’ve called the work “Fiu du tans” which literally means “string of time” but is a phrase meaning “over time” in Norman.

It was great fun painting above the water right in the heart of my city! Big thank you to Mathias Courtet for choosing me and trusting me with this large scale mural!

Jay chose the word “ทะเล” which means “Sea”.

She told me going to the sea and watching the horizon is something that calms her and helps her to reflect, contrasting with the hustle and bustle of Bangkok.

While painting it, I couldn’t help thinking about a song we have in Normandy called “Su la mé” where the author describes what he feels when he stands on the shore in a similar way.
When painting around the world, I’m always fascinated by all the cultural differences, but also how certain things are universal.

This mural was painted in the slum of Phra Chen, the area where I painted 9 murals last year. It was great to see everyone again, and add a tenth mural to these streets I love.

I created the new shirt of my city’s baseball team Caen Phénix Baseball to celebrate their 40th season!

I wanted it to be recognisable as a Caen shirt from a distance, but also add details which one can see close up.
The different patterns are references to the city of Caen, its coat of arms, its Abbey, the famous statue of the phenix, and to the history of the baseball club formed in Hérouville-Saint-Clair in 1985.

I included a portrait of Melvin McNair, a former black panther activist from North Carolina who – after an unbelievable journey – became a figure of my South Caen neighbourhood « Grace de Dieu » and who’s been involved with the baseball club for decades.

Carré Croix, Ayeshawhite

Than chose the word « ยิ้ม » meaning « smile ».

Than is a hair dresser who has a salon right by the walls I’m painting in the area of Haroon. She has been looking after me by giving me water, tea, biscuits, and storing my equipment, so naturally I thought of asking her to choose a word.
It didn’t surprise me when she said “smile”, as I have never seen her face in an other configuration.
I used dots on the whole wall to give a bit of texture and to soften the colours a little.

This mural was painted for Krung Thep Creative Streets, a mural festival organised by several European Embassies and in particular Sawasdee France. Thank you to Astrid Renoux for the organisation!

Dawood chose the word « ผู้ให้ » meaning « giver ».

He is one if the community leaders of Haroon. It’s a small neighbourhood built around Haroon mosque and is home to more or less 100 muslim families, most of which immigrated 3 generations ago from Southern India.

Dawood took me to the mosque and then to the cemetery where bodies are buried under a small mound of soil on which plants and trees are planted.

This mural was painted for Krung Thep Creative Streets, a mural festival organised by several European Embassies and in particular Sawasdee France. Thank you to Astrid Renoux for the organisation and Than who took care of me while I was painting.

This is my latest mural, painted on a difficult surface in Montallegro, Sicily.

As usual I painted it freestyle, inspired by the island of Sicily and the word itself.

Maria chose the word “Amunì” meaning “let’s go” in Sicilian. Marie told me that her word is a call to action, a call to stay in Sicily and build the future and create opportunities instead of migrating to the North of Italy.

Thank you to Farm Cultural Park and Pro Loco Montallegro for the organisation and all the lovely locals for welcoming me to Montallegro! I always have an amazing time in Sicily !

“Al Huriyah” (=“freedom”). 40×30 cm Riso print. 40€ on my online shop. All benefits go to “Yafa Cultural Centre” based in Balata Refugee Camp, in Palestine. Buy it here: https://sebtoussaint.bigcartel.com/

Amongst all the Palestinians who were displaced in 1948 during the Nakba, a community of fishermen from Yafa settled in Balata Refugee Camp, in the West Bank. Today it is home to approximately 25000 refugees making it the most populous Refugee Camp in the West Bank.

I stayed in the Camp twice, and my home was in the culture centre itself. The centre offers many different courses to children of the camp as well as art events and cultural outings.

At night the camp often turns into a war-zone where the occupying army faces local resistance. I personally know kids who got shot in the last couple of years. The latest episode of the ongoing conflict and the expansion of colonisation leave me often hopeless and feeling useless.

But I do think that art can have a real impact in helping a traumatised youth to express itself. Plus, I know from my experience that the locals will feel the love coming from those who purchased a print. Whenever anyone expresses solidarity towards the Palestinian people, they are reminded that although the politicians of the world have abandoned them, the humans of the world have not.

“Share The Word Project” which I started almost 12 years ago makes it into a museum!

“Museo delle Città del Mundo” in Palermo talks about everything to do with cities, their evolution, urbanism, architecture, etc…

I was chosen to talk about slums and refugee camps of course. It’s a huge honour for me.
I’ve been trying to bring as much focus as I can on these marginalised communities by making them more visible and to see these stories and these people make it into a museum, means so so much to me.

Grazie to Florinda Saieva and Andrea Bartoli from Farm Cultural Park for trusting me and recognising the value of my work.

I also want to thank Spag with who this started, Abdul Malek, Nono and El Afghani who have helped me along the way. And of course Dudu who’s always by my side helping me!

“Museo delle Città del Mundo”, a new museum set up in an old convent in the centre of Palermo.

I tried something a little different this time. The background was painted freehand without tape, rulers or spirit levels. The white lines were painted freehand with a brush.

The Museum talks about cities of the world, how they are planned, how they evolve, and how different cities can inspire us. As well as painting a mural, there is an exhibition about “Share The Word Project” with photos, videos and maps. I am honoured that my work is part of the museum, especially to represent the people I’ve been painting for in slums worldwide. It is the first time that “Share The Word Project” is presented in a museum. It means so much to me, it’s difficult to put it into words.

Massive GRAZIE to Florinda Saieva and Andrea Bartoli from Farm Cultural Park for inviting me. And congratulations to them and their team for putting all this together! It’s absolutely amazing, set in a beautiful old building in one of my favourite cities in the world.

I just painted these 2 walls in Fontenay-Sous-Bois, just outside Paris.

The first spells « VIVANT » (alive) while the other spells « RESPECT ». The words were chosen by locals who also suggested ideas of patterns to represent their neighbourhood.

Big thank you to Aurelia Bizouard and Kulturelia for organising this, meeting the locals, gathering information and helping throughout the project!