Invader is an anonymous French street artist. He is known for his ceramic tile mosaics modeled on the pixelated art of 1970s–1980s

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data buses of ...

video games, many of which depict the titular aliens from the arcade games '' Space Invaders, Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros.'' (the inspirations for his pseudonym)''.'' , his creations can be seen in highly-visible locations in 79 cities in 20 countries. To accompany his citywide installations, or "Invasions", Invader publishes books and maps as guides to the locations of his mosaics. Invader also makes mosaics using QR codes and stacks of

Rubik's Cube The Rubik's Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle originally invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Pentangle Puzzles in t ...

s (with the latter typically installed indoors).

History

A graduate of a Parisian

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

, Invader initially derived inspiration for his creations from the video games he played when he was growing up in the 1970s and 80s. Using tiles to represent the

pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...

in the games' 8-bit graphics, Invader began making mosaics in Paris in the 1990s, and went on to install mosaics in 31 other cities in France. Invader has since staged "invasions" in cities and countries worldwide, including seven in New York City and three in Hong Kong. He often installs mosaics in culturally and/or historically important locations, with one high-profile example being his December 31st, 1999 mosaic on the letter D of the

Hollywood Sign The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spellin ...

marking the Y2K bug. During subsequent trips to Los Angeles, he also placed mosaics on the eight other letters of the sign. Paris remains a primary location for the artist's work; in June 2011, Invader marked the installation of his 1,000th work in Paris with an exhibition at La Générale entitled ''1000.'' Since 2000, he has also installed more than 70 pieces of work around Hong Kong. As of January 2020, Invader had created mosaics in 79 cities, with 3,858 Space Invaders comprising over 1.5 million ceramic tiles, and had published 24 "invasion maps." In 2012, Invader made a short film ''Art4Space'' documenting his attempt to launch one of his aliens into space on a modified

weather balloon A weather balloon, also known as sounding balloon, is a balloon (specifically a type of high-altitude balloon) that carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of ...

. Invader also makes

QR code A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of Barcode#Matrix (2D) barcodes, matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso#Denso Wave, Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optic ...

mosaics using black and white tiles. The patterns can be easily decoded using standard QR reader smartphone apps; one such message, when decoded, reads, "This is an invasion." Invader installations have become desirable collectors' pieces, to the point where some works have been stolen off of the walls upon which they were installed.

Identity

Invader works incognito, often masked and largely at night. To guard his anonymity on camera during interviews, he pixellates his own image or wears a mask. He claims that only a few people know his real name and his face and that his parents think he works as a tiler in the construction industry.

Modus operandi

Invader sees himself as a "hacker" of public space spreading a mosaic "virus". He believes that museums and galleries are not accessible to everyone, and so installs his work at street level for ordinary people to enjoy on a daily basis. The sites for his mosaics are often chosen for their visibility, local interest and symbolism. No two pieces are alike. Cannon street mosaic

Although many of his works feature his signature aliens, Invader's repertoire of subjects also includes ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' characters, the Pink Panther,

Mega Man ''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...

, Spider-Man, Hong Kong Phooey, Thomas from '' Kung-Fu Master'' and

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar. Each "invasion" usually takes around two or three weeks, with the actual installations taking at least a week. The mosaics are mapped, catalogued and photographed to indicate their locations within a city; using this data, the artist then prints and distributes city "invasion maps". Smartphone users can also hunt for mosaics globally using the "FlashInvaders" app. In Montpellier, locations were chosen so that, when plotted on a map, they form an image of a giant ''Space Invaders'' alien. More recently, Invader has adopted strategies to avoid the removal of his works. Since the 2010s, when his works became highly sought-after by art collectors and theft became a real concern, he has begun to choose sites that are more difficult to reach and to create larger works with more delicate tiles that cannot be removed without damaging the piece. He has also taken steps against legal action; in late 2015, while planning another "invasion" in New York City, he put out a call on social media for building owners who would be willing to host his mosaics legally.

Rubikcubism

Since 2004, Invader has also created a series of works, typically for indoor display, exclusively using

s (a style the artist calls "Rubikcubism," a play on the

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

art movement of the early 20th century). Using a computer program, the artist works out the precise distribution of the six colors on a Rubik's Cube required to achieve the desired image; he then manipulates one side of each Rubik's Cube to reach the required pattern. Stacking the cubes eventually produces a full image, which is then glued to a backing board. Each piece is typically composed of approximately 300 cubes, measures about , and weighs approximately , though the exact dimensions depend on the subject and the level of detail. The works are organized into three series: "Bad Men," comprising portraits of famous villains such as Osama bin Laden, Jaws and

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

; "Masterpieces," which reproduces famous paintings by artists such as Delacroix, Warhol, Seurat, and Lichtenstein; and "Low Fidelity," based on iconic album art such as '' Country Life'', '' The Velvet Underground & Nico'', and ''

Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, ' ...

''. Among the images Invader has created using this technique are those of the Mona Lisa and the Dalai Lama; he received particular attention for a 2005 portrait of Florence Rey.

Reception

Invader has had solo exhibitions at art galleries in Paris,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Los Angeles, New York City, London, Rome and Lyon a
Galerie de Bellecour
(no
Michali Gallery
Palm Beach; exhibition for which he created the famous "Rubik Mona Lisa"). He has exhibited works at the 6th Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale (2001), the MAMA Gallery in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

(2002), the Paris-based

Magda Danysz Gallery Magda Danysz Gallery is an art gallery in Paris, France, owned by Magda Danysz, an art dealer and art curator. Magda Danysz Magda Danysz started in the art business in the early 1990s, when she opened her first art space in 1991 when she was 17 ...

(2003), the Borusan Center for Culture and Arts in Istanbul, Subliminal Projects in Los Angeles (2004), and Lazarides in London (2011). In 2010, he was included in the Banksy documentary '' Exit Through the Gift Shop'', filmed by fellow urban artist

Thierry Guetta Thierry Guetta, best known by his moniker Mr. Brainwash, is a French-born Los Angeles-based street artist. According to the 2010 Banksy-directed film ''Exit Through the Gift Shop'', Guetta was a proprietor of a used clothing store, and amateur ...

(AKA Mr. Brainwash), whom Invader has claimed is his cousin. In 2011, he took part in "Art in the Streets, a MoCA LA show at the Geffen Contemporary curated by Jeffrey Deitch. His work, when sold in galleries, can fetch six-figure sums. HKFooey@Sothebys

Fellow street artist Shepard Fairey wrote in ''Swindle'':

Invader's pop art may seem shallow, but by taking the risk of illegally re-contextualizing video game characters in an urban environment that provides more chaotic social interaction than a gamer's bedroom, he makes a statement about the desensitizing nature of video games and consumer culture. In a postmodern paradox, a game like Grand Theft Auto takes the danger of the streets and puts it in a safe video game, while Invader takes a safe video game icon and inserts it into the danger of the streets.

During an early 2014 "invasion" in Hong Kong comprising a total of 48 works, the city's Highways Department removed the life-sized ''Hong Kong Phooey'' (HK 58) mosaic, which had been placed by the side of a road in Fortress Hill. This angered local residents, who saw the removal as an example of the government only paying lip-service to promoting the arts in the city. In early 2015, a replica of the mosaic reached HK$1.96 million ($250,000) at auction at Sotheby's. NY145, featuring an invader and an old Apple Computer icon, sold for HK$562,500 ($72,000). A solo exhibition of new and retrospective works – called ''Wipe Out'' – was held in Hong Kong in May 2015 in association with the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation and Le French May. In 2017, following an "invasion" in Ravenna, Italy (famed for its ancient mosaics), Invader installed a series of vegetarian-themed works in the "Veggietown" neighborhood of Paris (9th and 10th arr.) as a show of support for vegan restaurants.

Publications

*''L'Invasion de Paris: Livre 01, la Genése.'' Paris: Invader, 2003. By Invader. . With text by Invader in French with English translation. *''Invasion Los Angeles: Invasion Guide 2: Los Angeles / Mission Hollywood.'' Paris: Invader, 2004. By Invader. . With text by Invader in French with English translation. Edition of 2000 copies. *''Invasion in the UK: London, Manchester, Newcastle: Invasion Guide 3.'' Paris: Invader, 2008. . With text by Invader in French with English translation. *''L'Invasion de Paris: 1000.'' Control P, 2013. . 2 Volumes. Text in French and English. *''Mission Miami: Art4Space Project: Invasion Guide 5.'' Control P, 2013. . *''Wipeout in Hong Kong: Invasion Guide 6.'' Control P, 2015. *''Invasion Los Angeles'' (Control P Editions, 2018), introduction and English translation by

Bruno Blum Bruno Blum (born October 4, 1960, Vichy, France) is a French singer songwriter, guitar player, music producer and musicologist sometimes nicknamed "Doc Reggae". He is mostly known for his work in the reggae, Caribbean music, rock music and Africa ...

References

External links

*
Invader @Instagram"In Bed With Invader"
Raphael Haddad on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Invader 1969 births Living people French graffiti artists Pseudonymous artists Guerilla artists