Paris Street Paintings - Photographs and Book

This project marries my love of street photography with the desire to add my own voice to the rich narrative of the streets of Paris. I insert my Picasso Mickey hybrids opportunistically and wait for the right moment to press the shutter. People passing add an extra element of composition, chance encounter and narrative. 

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The architecture of Paris is like a theatre. Passing people populate its stage - a woman crossing the street, a delivery van or cyclist, children returning home from school. Unexplained objects abandoned on the pavement play the part of props; sitting in surreal juxtaposition alongside the usual functional language of the streets, ambiguous in their statements, and all with a story to tell.

 

The city walls are a cacophony of voices. Street signs, advertising and graffiti battle it out in a shouting match of shapes, vibrant colours, tags and corporate logos. Lost and found notes glued to lamp posts endure and outlive their purpose while buildings that have been standing for over a century are subject to constant cosmetic surgery. In the city, we are constantly navigating through a maze of streets by signs. 

 

My work joins the language and structures of primitive visual forms with images from contemporary pop culture, art and the products of a consumerist society such as plastic toys and cartoons. Setting in play contradictory elements - objects that are imbued with symbolism versus objects devoid of meaning.            

 

Please see BOOKS section for complete series available in the book 'Paris Street Paintings'