arts and cultures

The "CyKlop", Urban Fantasies at Versailles

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From a playful and fanciful angle, the artist Le CyKlop revisits the History of France by customising 25 bollards around the Salle du Jeu de Paume, in the Saint-Louis district, into characters who have left their mark on the memory of Versailles. The rue Coste, in the Porchefontaine district, will soon host other works of urban art on the theme of the natural city. A walk to discover this new street poetry.
 
Ahe Cyklop was born from a simple idea, almost a joke. To paint an eye on the metal posts that abound on the sidewalks of our cities. For fun, to amuse. An obvious choice for its creator, a graphic designer who is a past master in the misappropriation of objects. As he passes by, the iron tubes are adorned with colour and open their eyelids. Residents, workers, children, tourists... all adopt these nice little urban monsters who observe the world with a benevolent look. From Paris to Marseille, from Berlin to China, the Cyklops brighten up our daily journeys with humour, love and mischief... (1).
 
Le CyKlop rue Goscinny Paris
 
François de Mazières, mayor of Versailles, explains that "This original operation is part of the City of Versailles' cultural policy to support art in all its forms, thanks to emerging or established artists, and to promote quality popular culture. These characters are integrated in a playful and offbeat way into our urban heritage, while paying tribute to the history of the city. »
 
Robespierre in Versailles
 
The artist, born in Le Havre in 1968, paints these works directly on the ground of reality, bringing his universe to it and bringing out emotions where they are not expected. The walker will be astonished, questioned about his city, amused by the abolition of the inertia of the landscapes he knows.
 
The CyKlop has been practicing a playful, popular and often interactive art since 2005 in the jungle of Parisian streets. He is known for his installations on urban furniture that colour the city and whose offbeat poetry brings a touch of fantasy to the street. He also invests in many media and revisits the myth of Ulysses and the Cyclops through everyday objects that have become toys, sculptures or art objects. Like a taste of childhood ... which has already been present in Paris, especially in the 11th and 13th arrondissements, or in Evry in 2015 ...
In Versailles, this time, he customised 25 bollards around the Salle du Jeu de Palme, painted with characters who have marked the history of the city, like Louis XIV. History under another eye that brings a smile back to passers-by!
 
Louis XVI at Versailles
 
 
(1) Source: Nicolas Gzeley - "The Cyklop, Urban Fantasy« Opus Délits collection #68, Critères Editions 2016.
 
 

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