Parisian Artist Transforms the Streets with Ink and Wheatpaste

All over Paris, Charles Leval (better known as Levalet) has been bringing an element of surprise to the streets. Nooks, crannies and crevices are taking on new life with his arrestingly realistic black and white figures.

Made of wheatpaste and drawn in black ink, they engage in all manner of activities, from reading books about metaphysics, to contemplating Hegel, to simply falling asleep. Three-dimensional objects even feature occasionally. One scene depicts a man fencing with a crimson umbrella; another portrays a woman playing a Roland keyboard.

Levalet explained to the Huffington Post that his work pretty much always begins with finding the right site. He spends hours exploring the laneways of Paris on foot. Once he’s found a suitable spot, he measures it out, then heads home and conjures up a scenario to fit. The project’s motivation was the need to find a place to exhibit video installations. ‘I needed some place to put my installations so, I turned video into drawings, and I went to the street,’ he told the Huffington Post.

Levalet’s decision to go public has certainly provoked some official attention. Apart from having his images plastered all over the web, he is currently on show at NUNC! Gallery in Grenoble, France, where he’ll be exhibiting until June 26.

[via PSFK]