GRENOBLE STREET ART FESTIVAL. MY BIGGEST BACK TO BACK PROJECT TO DATE! THREE WEEKS OF PAINTING, 180 CANS OF PAINT AND 38 X 8 M COVERED IN ORIGINAL ARTWORK.

The University of Grenoble provided a beautiful brief for the project which I believe captures the heat of the murals:

‘Create works of art that are visually engaging but leave a lot of room for the imagination of the viewers. Allow the artwork to flow outside of the ‘frame’ to allow the gaze to complete it. The more it gives the viewers to do, the more they will watch. We like shapes that lead to daydreaming’

My work always attempts to describe the energy and emotions we experience within ourselves that are difficult to explain with words. I try to paint what our souls would look like if only we could see them! I love how each mural for this project is individual in its own way but equally all three work together as a triptych, connected to one another by the way they flow, the colour palette and their reflective qualities.

I hope that the works of art are curious and uplifting. The shapes and textures of the paintings are familiar and yet they are also totally abstract. I think this dichotomy is interesting as the meaning and emotive response to the paintings will be different for each person depending on where their imagination leads them.

THE GENESIS OF GRENOBLE STREET ART FESTIVAL LIES IN JEROME CATZ CREATION OF ‘SPACEJUNK’ A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ARTS ORGANISATION ENTIRELY AIMED AT ENLIGHTENING AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT STREET ART. JEROME IS A SUCH A PASSIONATE, INTELLIGENT AND ENGAGING VISIONARY, IN MEETING HIM I UNDERSTOOD IMMEDIATELY HOW HE’D MANAGED TO PULL THIS OFF. THIS THE FESTIVAL HAS BEEN RUNNING ANNUALLY SINCE 2015, OVER WHICH TIME THEY HAVE TOTALLY TRANSFORMED THIS MOUNTAIN CITY. I FEEL SUPER PROUD TO NOW BE A PART OF ITS HISTORY.

THERE WAS A POINT WHERE I REALLY DIDN’T THINK THIS PROJECT WOULD GO AHEAD, LOTS OF DESIGNS DRAFTS BACK AND FORTH WITH THE UNIVERSITY AS WELL AS CANCELLATIONS DUE TO COVID. COLOUR PICKING WAS ALSO A BIT OF LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE AND HAD TO BE DONE QUICKLY BECAUSE OF DELIVERY RESTRICTIONS. SINCE I USE MANY COLOURS, I FIND IT HARD ENOUGH TO PICK THE CORRECT QUANTITY OF SPRAY PAINT FOR ONE WALL LET ALONE THREE. KNOWING THERE WOULD PAINT LEFTOVER FROM EACH WALL, I DIDN’T WANT TO OVER-ORDER, BUT EQUALLY, I KNEW THAT IF I RAN OUT OF ANY PAINT IT WOULD TAKE ROUGHLY FOUR DAYS TO ARRIVE! IN THE END, I DID OVER ORDER, BUT THIS TIME I KEPT A CLOSE EYE ON EXACTLY HOW MUCH PAINT I WAS GOING THROUGH SO THE NEXT PAINT ORDER FOR A JOB OF THIS SIZE SHOULD BE EASIER!

I LEFT GRENOBLE AFTER THREE WEEKS TOTALLY EXHAUSTED BUT FEELING CAPABLE, TOUGH AND HUGELY FULFILLED. I’M SO GRATEFUL THAT I HAD THE CHANCE TO PUSH MYSELF IN THIS WAY AND SEE WHERE MY LIMITS ARE. NO DOUBT, IT WAS HARD WORK, AND HALFWAY THROUGH IT DID WONDER IF I’D EVER MAKE IT OUT THE OTHER SIDE, BUT I DID. I PART THANKS TO COPIOUS CROISSANTS AND PEP TALKS FROM MY PARTNER DAN AND PARTNER IN CRIME SOPHIE MESEG WHO I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS JOB WITHOUT.

A HUGE ‘MERCI BEAUCOUP!’ TO EVERYONE THAT MADE THIS PROJECT HAPPEN AND WELCOMED ME SO LOVINGLY TO FRANCE! THE TEAM AT SPACEJUNK AND EVERYONE INVOLVED IN GRENOBLE STREET ART FESTIVAL ARE A SUPER SPECIAL BUNCH. THANK YOU TO ALL THE VOLUNTEERS AND FRIENDLY FACES WHO TURNED UP RAIN OR SHINE AND REALLY HELPED ME THROUGH WITH THE HIGHS AND LOWS. THE TEA, THE CAKES, THE GOOD CHATS, THE FRENCH LESSONS (I PROMISE TO BE BETTER ON MY RETURN!) A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE STAFF AT @UNVIERSTIYOFGRENOBLE FOR TRUSTING IN AND APPRECIATING MY WORK.

WHILST PAINTING, I HAD AN IDEAS BOX BESIDE ME FOR STUDENTS TO DROP IN NAME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE THREE MURALS. HERE ARE SOME OF THEM THAT STOOD OUT - WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE?

VEILS OF KNOWLEDGE

THE RAMBLING SOULS

REFRACTION, DIFFRACTION, MIROITEMENT (GLEAM OR SHIMMER)

POLARISED IMAGINATION

BREATH

FROZEN TULIPS

THE SILK IN YOU

Grenoble Street Art Festival ‘Veils of Knowledge’