From our first cartoon in from of Tv program «Once Upon a Time… Life», to specialized broadcasts about health care passing by anatomy classes in highschool, we have to admit that our generation, the one of Tetra Pack’s packaging, of ham smoke flavoured chips, and of the 50% raise of cancer issues before 2020, had got enought knowledge to put down and control this meat envelop – that becomed the top 1 worry of our developed countries.
To know how looking like, charming and appearing while hiding under an among of capillaries and flesh, the uncontrollable vortex of feelings that is striding us each second, here is the « Human » that Remed, an originary French artist coming from Lille, is representating through a meticulous and evolutionary work, between cosmos and our small intestine.
Juggling from canvas to 500 m² walls, from typography to cubism, from graffiti to brushes, his art refleat life, playing with codes and breathing a fresh wind over the « street art » planet, decidedly temperamental.
Encounter with the man,
Hi Remed, lets start with the classic shit : Where are you and what time is it while you’re answering to our questions ?
I am in Madrid and it’s 5:52 Pm.
All right, so can you quickly tell us about your career ?
I met art around my seventeen birthday, while i was reading a Modigliani’s book, and I felt in love with the street years later… Since then i paint at home and on the walls of my city.
Do you remember your first paint, or first wall ? And, at this moment, had you imagined that oneday you will do it as a living ?
My first paint was a still life representing bottles and fruits and my first wall a garage. But it is only at 21, when i saw Madjoub Ben Bella’s house, that I realise i could live for and through art. And then, while a trip to Morocco, I had a discussion with a good friend (Nadjib – Dj boulaone), which make me realise that It was a real need, and I have to believe in this way.
You come from Lille, but you seem to travel a lot – Madrid, Eatern countries, New York… Which one of this travels impressed you the most ?
I’ve been impressed by a lot of trips for different reasons… Spain for the quality of life, Brazil because of thoses contrasts and the energy, New York for the approach of work and the encounters you made in some pioneers districts, Serbia for the contrast too and his past… But the travel that changed my life was my second time to Morocco.
The huge paintings you made in Eastern Europe are really impressive. How did you do to paint such big buildings ?
Most of the opportunities i had comes from people, and artists from differents countries that knowed my work, felt it, and wanted to share it with other people. You know galleries and institutions still don’t understand what is hapening, so even if they want to do «Street art» exhibitions, they don’t know how to do, how to meet the artists… So they ask to some local artists to help them building a project and sometimes thoses artists have heard about me and I’am lucky enought to be invited… And then they often become good friends !
How do you work when you have to realize such big walls ?
Generaly, i make a sketch… Except for the wall in Poland, where i had to improvise because the atmosphere was such strong… And finally i done it in just 2 days, because inspiration was really fluant.
But yeah, when i have those great opportunities i document myself about the history, architecture, and culture of the city and then try to assimilate it with my proper vision. The one I am the more proud of is « La santa de Belgrade », a wall i’ve done in Serbia.
« I’ve search some informations, about the history and architecture of Belgrade. then i learnt, that it has been destroyed and rebuild 38 times in her history.. So this « santa » inspired from an icone of the city my friend sent me, has several hands and a hidden black face. Between her legs, an egg from which goes out life and civilisation. One hand is holding it, protecting it…One other hand is sending lightenings on the city to destroy it, but in her sleave, there s a white flag of peace…One of her other hand, is holding her brest, as a mother giving milk, feeding the city…but hidden in her sleave, a big gun, war weapon…Then the top hand, is also sending lightenings destroying the city, but from her sleave, a free bird is going out to fly and spread p e a c e ! »
Concerning the technical side, if there is a scaffolding (which i prefere to electric cranes), I take a picture of the wall with it and then, thanks to photoshop, I superimpose my drawing on the wall to get some mark.
Then I print it, which permit me to know that the right elbow of the character comes at the second floor and third rod of the wall, etc… Then I work it with roller and fatcap when i use sprays.
What is the method you like the most ? Which bakings ?
There is a time for everything, it really depend on what i need.
Your work is really accurante – clean and, like your last paintings, often represent interwoven characters and colors creating an abstract form. Can you tell us more about thoses creations ? What does it represent ?
Hmmm… It could take a while to explain, but I’ll try to make it quick :
Tout mon travail, que je comprends parfois au fur et à mesure qu’il se réalise, est l’expression de la vie, ma vie – la vôtre. Du contraste, de la dualité, du chaos et de l’harmonie, du doute et de l’espoir, du cynisme à l’utopie..
All my work is the expression of life, my life – your life… Of contrast, duality, chaos, harmony, doubt and hope, cynism and utopy.
At the begining, my canvases were complex, composed of many shapes, icons, words and letters… Very codified. Today my work is more and more simple. I want the spectator can read it without my help. But if i had to explain it here are some words about my two last canvases you were talking about :
There name are «From desire» «To fullfilment» and they are from a serie of 7 drawings i’ve done in a very spontaneous way.
In this paint we can see a man sit with one hand on his right knee, the other one helding his grey head. His heart is right here, paint in yellow and red… Then, from one of his mask mouth drip an inversed heart, dark and bigger than his own one. The shade of the body and of the inversed heart is the same.
Behind his head, a keyhole – which he still don’t see yet. And around him his futur potential… We can also see a big orange profile, turned to outside, in communion with the universe and the cosmos representated by the triangle and the round. We could imaginate that the triangle is the funnel through what that round – or the global – the everything – could enter into the human being. One of his eyes is carrying the vision of the third, full of lights.
This canvas is following the first one. We recover the sitting man, with still one of his hand on his knee, but the other one didn’t hold his head anymore – which have been cut – but is rising to the sky, becoming the second hand of a second character (who is the same one but in a different space time). We see that this second character is standing up and walking. His left hand isn’t his shades anymore but is standing in the light. The triangle is prolonging his head – of a bright yellow. And a moon behind his head replace the keyhole – which mean that he finded the key !
The eyes behind him aren’t dark anymore but colored with a deep yellow, and the third eyes is entering the face.
The inversed heart is below, small, insignificant.
And if you have to find the key permitting to do the craziest action / piece or real, you could ever done, what will it be ?
A massive sculpture in town, in nature or in a museum… And also jump from a cliff with a wingsuit.
For many artists music take a very important place in the creation process, is it your case ?
No, not really… Int the creation process i don’t listen to music, I prefer watching the canva silently.
How do you see you evolution for the years to come ?
I think i’ll turn myself, more and more to volume creations… I have a lot of forms in my head that i want to create.
Do you have a special message to deliver to people who want to enter in the artistic scene ?
Believe
How would you describe your universe in one word ?
Movement
How would you describe society in one word ?
Movement
How would you describe artistic world in one word ?
Movement
And finally I let you give the last one (word) ?
P e a c e
It is 7.59 pm
Remed Flickr
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Jeu de briques
Snake
Pacman
Bubble