Chunnel Vision

 Walls no longer have ears – or if they do, they’re far too busy sounding off to use them. Street art used to be confined to the un-touristy fringes of Paris, condemned buildings, les quartiers populaires… Now, it seems you can hardly turn a corner without stumbling on some cryptic phenomenon or other.

And they don’t come much more ubiquitous than these alien critters. They’re the work of Space Invader (say invadeur, I guess, because he’s French), a graffiti artist devoted to the wildly infuriating ‘80s arcade game of the same name. Monsieur Invader uses heavy duty cement to fix his mosaics to the wall; that means that, unlike many urban interventions, his are here to stay. His declared mission is to conquer the planet. Eight years into his campaign, you could say he has made serious inroads. At the last count, he had “invaded” 38 cities, including London. Paris, of course, is right on the front line, with a score of 15,120.

You’ll have to be quick to follow the paper trail left by Plan A Plan B (see example, right, in the Marais). This collective of graphic designers, journalists and “trendsetteurs” also have designs on the planet but, in the crazy, cooky world of street art, nothing is quite what it seems.

Plan A Plan B’s agenda is off-the-beaten-track travel. Their website, I discover, is a window on trekking in the Amazon and scuba diving off Venezuela. There’s even a piece on hidden Montmartre – though you’ll need to check into the artsy Hôtel Particulier Montmartre, at 400 euros a pop, to savour the full experience. Not exactly agitprop, but I predict team members will go far.

For those feeling nostalgic for the first generation muralists, there are still lots of great examples to be seen around town. I get a special buzz out of the collaborations – like this one, between painter, Jérôme Mesnager and Mosko et Associés in Ménilmontant (20e). And I’ve a particular soft spot for Miss-Tic, who spent more than 20 years stencilling her spiky, lippy alter ego free for all to see, before gallery owners clasped street art to their bosoms. Yet seeing her wild women tamed in Montmartre’s Espace W, I feel utterly unmoved. Take the “art” out of the street art if you must. But take the “street” out at your peril…

Read more about Parisian street artists…