Using sheets of plastic and tape, I put together this design with a bunch of volunteers!
The different patterns symbolise elements of the local landscape around Lannion: the sea, timber framing, the Brelevenez steps, red hydrangeas, and oak trees.
I’ve been using this technique for years to create displays in my local football stadium. It was a pleasure to be able to bring this artform outside the stadium !
Looking forward to making more of these!
Size: 37,5 x 4,8 meters.
Thank you to @le_grand_palais for inviting me! Thank you to Pascale and Maeva for the organisation and thank you to the volunteers!
The term « siamonoism » comes from the italian phrase « … siamo noi » ( =we are … ) which is used by ultras of many italian football clubs in order highlight their identity like in the famous « Milano siamo noi » chant.
« Siamonoism » designates artwork or artists who’ve emerged from ultras groups or who are inspired by the subculture.Mainstream media and other ignorant sources have often depicted the ultras scene as hooliganism, when in reality « ultra » and « hooligan » are two very different cultures. The ultras scene is a worldwide phenomenon born in Italy in the late 60s and that revolutionised football support by structuring and organising groups of fans. This extremely creative scene starting using multiple ways of bringing visual and audio support to their clubs, as well as to communicate with their own members.
Sewing flags, painting banners, taking pictures, writing fanzines or writing songs, and designing scarves, are among the many creative activities inherent to the ultras scene.
I have never received any type of formal artistic education, instead I learned my trade at my local football stadium in Caen as a teenager, by working on huge banners and displays which covered whole sections of the stadium on matchdays.
The use of capital letters, bold colours, high contrasts and the search for brutal visual impacts have stayed with me ever since.@le_grand_palais in partnership with @la_villette have invited me to a festival in Britanny where I’ve put together some artwork using sheets of plastic and tape just like I’ve done for years in my local stadium.
Here, the different patterns represent different elements of the local landscape.
Thank you to Pascale, Maëva and Clemence for organising this, and thank you to the people who joined in!
An important part of my work is sharing it, explaining my work, the stories and the people behind the words I paint, as well as my personal journey. Thank you to @le_grand_palais , @la_villette for organizing this event at La Virgule, in Morlaix, France.
Mamadou chose the word « Soudés » (united / welded in french).
Mamadou is 19 years old and lives in La Fauconnière, a typical French council estate in the low income suburbs North of Paris. The neighbourhood was built in the 60s and is home today to thousands of families, of which a majority have immigrated from North Africa, Sub-saharan Africa and the Middle East.
Mamadou, whose parents came from Mali, chose this word to describe the feeling of his diverse yet united neighbourhood.
As usual I painted the mural freestyle without a plan or any form of sketch. I painted it in the heart estate, making references to the neighbourhood in the patterns. The black and white chiseled zigzags represent the buildings from above, the green equilateral triangles represent the shape of the neighbourhood and the blue waves are for the nearby swimming pool which gives the name « square des sports » to that specific location in the estate.
I was thrilled to be able to work on « Share The Word Project » in a French estate. I’ve been painting the words of people who I feel are ignored since 2013, self-funding murals in slums and refugee camps around the world. But for a huge mural like this one, self funding was never an option, and I want thank Le Grand Palais in Paris for giving me the opportunity to paint Mamadou’s word as part of their « Histoires d’art à Gonesse » project. Big thank you to Vanessa, Martin and Margaux for organising this! Thank you to the owner of the building I3F and Ville de Gonesse ! And of course thank you the inhabitants for being so generous with me!
I painted this on Edouard’s wall in Moult, Normandy. He works in the wood industry and I therefore included sipo leaves in the design. As usual, I was free to play with the letters and had great fun freestyling this one!
It was given to me by an Iranian refugee who was on his way to the UK, and by a Cameroonian woman working as a prostitute in France.
Dreaming is a driving force I relate to very strongly. Believing in goals that seem impossible to reach is what enabled me to cycle around the world ten years ago and then become an artist.
40x50cm on art paper. Art for sale. Contact me for more info!
Seb Toussaint 