day 151

today I went to the studio of nemo and his fellow stencil artist jerome mesnager who creates ghost-like dancing creatures throughout paris. sometimes these ghosts meet nemo and they have been seen together doing circus tricks and sharing a glass of wine on various buildings throughout paris.

their studio is in romanville, right around the corner from where we stay in the suburbs and it now makes perfect sense that these stencils should meet socially.
unfortunately today the artists themselves weren't in, but these images were taken directly accross the street on bvd. henri barbusse and it was just lovely see a differnt context for these transitory creations...

day 122

we are back in the suburbs again until our studio is ready on the 1st. there is a strange déjà vu happening here so I thought I would run with it and see how nemo was doing. alas, since the first time I shot him on day 11, things seem to have changed.

losing this nemo, who was pretty special in my heart, has made me a bit sad. he was my first!
but one of the things I discovered when I found this particular nemo, was that opening your eyes and really seeing the world around you, is something that takes practice...

day 103

last day in paris for a while. strange to be leaving this little atelier and this small community of artists who have become like another home for us. difficult though this place is, I think I'll miss it: seeing friends in the street, asking how their work is going, watching the development of amazing pieces (pierre's work is finished!), working on projects that have had input from the neighbours, discussing post-colonial art-making issues during communal dinners. it reminds me a bit of my parent's house in the 70s - everyone coming over, bringing plates of food, drinking and discussing life. the support, the friendships.

these days everyone is very busy. there is never enough time, or people are 'stressed' from work. I'm not sure when getting older equated to living less, but this strange community has reminded me that connections are important when making life and making art...

found this bravely stenciled on the side of the centre pompidou. not sure how long it will last but I thought it was a nice idea to take to the next place...

day 68

les frigos: an old refrigeration building that was claimed by artists, is now owned by paris city, and where a friend and I went to visit one of the artist studios. during our visit we were both asked 'to sit' for an artist who does nudes. my friend has only been here for 48 hours and parisian clichés are already happening to her. it's taken me two months...

day 46

today I went looking again for nemo. and I found him...
this work was apparently created in the 1980s by an artist who was a maths professor by day, and stenciled in his neighbourhood by night. his nickname 'nemo' was apparently inspired by the detective comic, little nemo that came out in 1905 by Winsor McCay - which I found out here.



the sign next to our man is threatening prosecution if rubbish is dumped...
apparently most stencils are in the 20th arr. where 'nemo' lived. here is an essay about this area.









all of these little ones are part of a wide work which is very beautiful, but to capture it all I'll have to go back another day..







.

day 38

look who I found again today!



perhaps our 'no one' man is someone after all...

day 33

1st of may: I thought I would take part in rallies or french protests or at the very least a march uniting the workers of the world. but no, just another public holiday. when will I learn that expectations lead to hell?
but once I let it go, this delight revealed herself to me.



not entirely sure what's going on here...

day 11

It's our last day in the suburbs - we're moving to cité des arts tomorrow.

under the guise of needing some extra milk I made gordon walk to the shops with me so I could get this photo. as we approached I started to practice my pathetic french in case someone was out the front.
"you can't take a photo there" gordon hissed "they're gypsy squatters. they'll say yes, ask you inside for a vodka and the next thing you'll know you will wake up in the ukraine minus a kidney".
but I’ve been wanting to photograph this all week. a good stencil is hard to find over here.
“I’m going to keep walking" he ranted, "if you get taken, I’m dressing up in drag and I’ll pretend to be you for the next three months - no one will ever know. I’ve got your walk down pat. don’t think that I wont”.

no one was outside when I got there, but without a backward glance, gordon continued walking.
next time you see me, check out my legs just in case - gordon's are much nicer...