Ememem

Ememem is an anonymous French street artist based in Lyon. They[lower-alpha 1] create mosaics incorporating geometric motifs in cracked sidewalks and façades, a process they call flacking. Ememem creates art at night, so that it is generally discovered at dawn.

Not to be confused with Eminem.
"Flacking" redirects here. For the process known as fracking, see hydraulic fracturing.
Ememem
A mosaic on a sidewalk by Ememem
A mosaic by Ememem
NationalityFrench
Known forMosaics
StyleStreet art
Websiteememem.art

Art

A street artist,[2] Ememem creates mosaics incorporating geometric motifs in cracked sidewalks and façades. They describe this art as "a poem that everybody can read" and "a memory notebook of the city".[3] They created their first mosaic in 2011 in an alley in their hometown of Lyon, although they had already been working with ceramic; since 2016, they have created street mosaics across France,[3] and as of September 2021 also in Barcelona (including in the Plaça Urquinaona and Sant Antoni[4]) and Madrid[2] as well as Turín, Genova, Civitacampomarano, and Terracina in Italy, Oslo, Hamar and Stavanger in Norway, Melbourne,[4] Aberdeen in UK and Carlow in Ireland.[5]

Their mosaics can easily be found in Lyon, and some visitors to the city seek them out.[6] In 2021, Ememem was commissioned by the Société du Grand Paris to decorate the location of a new Grand Paris Express stop.[2]

Mosaic by Ememem in Lyon

In addition to their street art, they have created additional commissions for exhibitions, some of which have been purchased by art collectors.[1]

Ememem describes their art as flacking, a self-coined[7] neologism derived from the French flaque, meaning "puddle" or "pool".[5] They have cited Célébration du sol by Jean Dubuffet as an influence.[8]

Personal life

Ememem is French[4] and lives in Lyon, where they are known as le chirurgien des trottoirs, "the pavement surgeon"[3] or "the surgeon of the sidewalks".[6] They told Ynet that the name "Ememem" refers to the sound of their moped, which they ride when they go to create a mosaic.[9] They work at night to remain anonymous, and their identity is unknown; their work is generally found at dawn.[2] They have refused requests for in-person or radio interviews, and declined to state their age or gender.[1] They share images of their work on Instagram with the account "@ememem.flacking",[7] which had more than 169,000 followers as of May 28, 2023.[9]

See also

Notes
  1. Ememem's identity is unknown, and the artist has refused to share information such as age and gender.[1] This article therefore uses they/them pronouns for the artist.

References
  1. Renout, Frank (July 20, 2021). "Anonieme kunstenaar Ememem is 'Moeder Teresa van slecht behandelde stoepen'" [Anonymous Artist Ememem is 'Mother Teresa of Badly Treated Sidewalks']. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  2. Mases, Carlota Bisbe (2021-09-05). "Ememem, el artista callejero que rellena las grietas del pavimento con mosaicos de colores" [Ememem, the street artist who fills the cracks in the pavement with colored mosaics]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  3. Ebert, Grace (2021-05-13). "Ceramic Mosaics Mend Cracked Sidewalks, Potholes, and Buildings in Vibrant Interventions by Ememem". Colossal. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  4. "Street artist Ememem gives makeover to roads damaged from riot". Catalan News. November 20, 2019. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  5. Meek, Natasha (April 19, 2021). "The French pavement street artist Ememem from Lyon going viral in Yorkshire". The Press. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  6. Chuzeville, Baptiste (2021-09-22). "Ememem, l'artiste chirurgien des rues lyonnaises" [Ememem, the artist-surgeon of the streets of Lyon]. Le Tout Lyon (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  7. Reneau, Annie (2021-05-25). "French street artist fills ugly, jagged potholes with gorgeous, colorful mosaics". Upworthy. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  8. Rostagnat, Mélanie (2019-10-09). "Collage, mosaïques: les 6 street artistes du moment à Paris" [Collage, mosaics: the 6 street artists of the moment in Paris]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  9. מוספיר, דר (2021-06-15). "'למדתי את הרחוב כל חיי': האמן האלמוני שמתקן את מדרכות אירופה" ['I have studied the street all my life': the anonymous artist who repairs the sidewalks of Europe]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2021-11-28.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.