I’ve just started painting in a slum of Nouakchott, Mauritania for a new episode of Share The Word Project! 9 years ago I started this art project where I paint words that people choose on their houses. I do this specifically in slums and refugee camps. The idea is to paint the words – and tell the stories behind the words – of people who are largely ignored. I aim to use art to bring a bit of focus on marginalised communities. It’s an ongoing project that has taken me to so many countries through the years. Each time I stay one month in each slum, and this time I’m in Nouakchott.
I self-fund the project and I organise it myself. There are no sponsors, no NGOs behind me and I have no contacts in the slums I end up working in. I just meet the people and start painting !
Many years ago my friend Gillou taught me how to paint walls using a spray can in my hometown of Caen, Normandy. A few years later I decided to make that my job and he’s been very supportive ever since, encouraging me in my art, telling people about me and even finding me work!
Today I delivered a 90x90cm canvas he commissioned. He just gave me the size of the canvas and told me to have fun with it. I chose the word “Normandy”, for a land that we both have in our hearts. I wanted the painting to reference Normandy but without making it too cliché and obvious. I didn’t want to paint the Mt Saint Michel, a bottle of Calvados and apples. We’ve seen that before and I’d rather represent Normandy in my own way.
The patterns painted are separated by both straight lines and curved or irregular lines. These irregular lines draw the outlines of Normandy. In the top left of the painting one will recognise the outline of the Cotentin, Normandy’s West coast. The bottom right shows the border with the Paris Region, etc… Caen would be situated in the navy and white triangles in the centre. I guess it’s hard to see for a non-Norman but this was made for a Norman, plus I like it when things aren’t too obvious. I also painted two apple tree flowers at the top and at the bottom.
A big dilemma was whether to include insular Normandy (the islands of Jersey, Guernesey…). I decided not to include them because I wanted the outlines of Normandy to all be drawn at the same scale so as not too be too confusing. The islands would have been very small, especially in an overall design where the patterns are big. I will find a way to include them in my work in the future.
Limited edition of 30 prints. 40×50 cm Pigmentary print on 220 gsm mat paper (acid free). Numbered and signed. Order here: https://sebtoussaint.bigcartel.com/
“Peace” is the word I have painted the most since the beginning of “Share The Word Project” – my ongoing art project in which I ask inhabitants of slums and refugee camps to give me words to paint on their houses.
“Peace” – in different languages – was given to me 16 times in 9 years, mostly by victims of conflicts in the DR Congo, Palestine, Iraq and Colombia. I’ve realised that people who have survived wars never take for granted the times of peace or relative peace that follows.
It’s the result of a project with the Microfolie @polinno_pepitart_et_fablab where a group of locals chose a word to paint on the wall and helped create patterns to illustrate the landscape of Ardèche.
The 6 patterns represent the river, the bridges, the mountains, olive tree flowers, olive tree leaves, and dry stone walls.
Massive thank you to @bilelal for lining me up, Aurélien, Julie, Juliette, Cécile, Virginie and the participants for the organisation and the very warm welcome!
I’m very happy to launch my collab with @_chassepatate , a brand of cycling wear from Normandy.
In 2011 and 2012 I went on a huge cycling trip that took me from Normandy, around the world and back to Normandy. It was during that journey that the idea of “Share The Word Project” emerged and the idea of becoming became realistic. Cycling has always been my favourite means of transport and I’m delighted to have been called to design a cycling jersey!
My indoor installation in Cargese, Corsica inside a cultural centre.
This is a collage made with sheets of plastic that I taped together with transparent tape. I learnt this technique at my local football stadium in Caen as this is how we create huge banners that cover the stands when players walk out onto the pitch.
Thanks to @le_grand_palais I have been able work with these sheets outside the stadium to create installations both outdoors and indoors.
Thank you to Pascale, Camille and Isis, @Spaziuculturalecarghjese and its volunteers for making this possible! Thank you to @Spagbertin for the picture.
This is a collage made with plastic sheets and representing the Corsican landscape through different patterns. Genoese towers, prickly pears, dried stone walls, fig leaves and mountain peaks create a harmonious island. The island is surrounded by a long strip of waves symbolising the sea. We lit up the inside of the bandstand to make the installation visible at night just like a lantern!
Thank you to Juana, Julien, Julie, Spag, Pascale and Camille as well as all the volunteers who participated! I really appreciated the warm welcome! pictures by Spag Bertin
Just completed this mural in Saint Joseph school in Caen, Normandy.
This is where I went to school and it is where I met my 2 best friends Spag and El Afghani. In 2011, the 3 of us left from this exact sports field for a cycling trip around the world. We cycled back to the same spot a year later cheered on by hundreds of kids and teachers.
The pupils chose the word « Amitiés » (friendships) which really is a word I can relate to!
The wall is 48 meters long and I painted it to represent a school year.
The 4 globes represent the autumn equinox, the winter solstice, the spring equinox, and the summer solstice. I painted them in that order because a school year here starts in September and ends in July. On either end of the mural I drew half of a yellow sun. The sun represents summer on either end of the school year. On can also notice slight changes in the colour scheme in relation to the seasons which are represented.
Big thank you the Gildas and his pupils, thank you to Sylvain, Anne Laure and M. Lahaye for making this possible !
Just completed this mural for “Courant d’Art” festival in Vernon, Normandy.
The theme of this year’s festival is Nature within cities and our role as human beings.
As usual I hadn’t prepared any sketches, as I wanted to be inspired by the place itself. I started by touring Vernon and taking pictures of plants and textures. I then painted 5 different patterns inspired by 5 different elements: weeping willows, water lilies, Vernon stone, wood, and the river Seine.
“Semper Viret” means “Always green” in Latin and is the town’s motto. I added 2 hands turned towards the patterns to stress the role than man has to play in protecting nature.
Thank you to Marie Guerin along with Elise and Ludivine for organising. Thank you to Yann, Reynald and Eric for their support and to my mentor Gillou and Chloe for the warm welcome!
pictures by Spag Bertin
Seb Toussaint 