2018 22
THE SHINING
It’s that time of the year again… the front wall of the Bell Pub in East London gets a shiny new refresh. They love a good scare and The Shining is the theme that was selected. The mural features the famous movie scene when Jack Nicholson smashes a door with an axe and stick his head through the hole, looking demoniac. The background depicts the little boy writing REDRUM (= ‘murder’, reversed) on the door. Here’s Johnny!
“The Shining” – Zabou – 5x4m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
ZIGGY
London is deeply missing the great David Bowie, who passed away in 2016. I’ve painted his portrait near Broadway Market in East London. The mural is a combined image of his famous Ziggy Stardust make-up with his finger on his lips, while the background is an abstract mix of blue and red colours.
Rest In Peace David!
“Bowie” – Zabou – 3x4m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
TRINITY AT SAATCHI GALLERY
‘Trinity’ is an exhibition of new works by collage artist Joe Webb, tape artist Benjamin Murphy and myself. It features some of my new original artworks, iconic artists and singers painted on objects, as well as various hand finished unique prints.
The show runs until the 6th January at Saatchi Gallery located in Sloane Square in London, UK.
CELEBRATING BEESTON
I just completed my largest mural to date in the lovely town of Beeston, near Nottingham. The 35m on 8m artwork took 8 days to complete. Commissioned by Broxtowe Council and organised by the Beeston Civic Society and Beeston Street Art Festival, it features portraits of three local celebrities: Paul Smith, Richard Beckinsale and Edwin Starr. The figures are surrounded by sights from the canal and the old town as well as rays of colours. Residents were extremely enthusiastic and emotional when seeing the mural coming to life. Thank you Beeston!
“Beeston” – Zabou – 35x8m – Beeston, UK – 2018
Photo credit: 1,2 by Jansch Greatrix – 3,4,5 by Dave Silver
HANDS OFF THE WALL FESTIVAL
The first edition of the Hands Off The Wall festival took place in Vienna, gathering various female artists to paint around the city centre. To celebrate creative women, I painted three portraits: Villana (yarn artist, Mexico), Yara Shahidi (actress, model, USA) and Björk (singer, musician, Iceland). Their hands are joined together.
Carrie Reichardt and Karen Francesca, both mosaic artists from the UK, created a complex design on the lower part of the wall, featuring the words: “I’M AN ARTIST YOUR RULES DON’T APPLY TO ME”.
“I’m An Artist” – Zabou – 13x6m – Vienna, Austria – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
FRIDA IN VILLENEUVE-SAINT-GEORGES
The city of Villeneuve-Saint-Georges on the outskirts of Paris just opened their new “maison des artistes”, a venue for artists with facilities, classes and exhibitions. As the building has been named after Frida Kahlo, a design contest was organised to pick the portrait of the iconic Mexican artist to be painted on the side – and I was chosen to create the mural.
The artwork shows Frida Kahlo in her studio, leaning on her hand, looking away and searching for inspiration. Her expression is peaceful and happy. In the background, we can distinguish a pot of brushes and pens as well as the silhouette of a canvas. Colours are pale to fit best with the architecture of the building, dating from the 19th century and just renovated.
“Frida, in her studio” – Zabou – 8,5x8m – Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
TROPICA FESTIVAL
I was invited back to Indonesia to take part in Tropica Festival, taking place on the small island of Nusa Penida off the cost of Bali.
I first spent a couple of days in Denpasar to paint a mural at the Alliance Française Bali. The Alliance Française helps spreading the French culture and language by providing courses, access to books and much more. The mural, painted inside their courtyard, depicts a young Indonesian girl laying on the grass and reading, surrounded by French books.
“The Bookworm” – Zabou – 13x3m – Denpasar, Indonesia – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
After Denpasar I headed to Nusa Penida for Tropica Festival. This year, Tropica partnered with Seawalls and Pangeaseed to create murals raising issues about climate change and the conservation of the oceans. My chosen theme was the destruction of corals: as the temperature of the sea rises, corals start bleaching and later die. We are slowly destroying a unique ecosystem!
My mural depicts a female diver underwater exploring the reef. On the right hand-side, we can see healthy colourful corals surrounded by fishes, whereas on the left hand-side corals are bleached and dead. There are dead fishes and plastic floating – pollution of the oceans is another dramatic subject.
“Troubled Water” – Zabou – 20x3m – Nusa Penida, Indonesia – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
REFRESH
My dear Salvador is back and refreshed! He loves his new leopard patterned jacket too. You can see the full shutter on evenings and Sundays at Luke Jacobs on Commercial Street, London.
“Dali” – Zabou – 2,5x4m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
STRAMURALES
The small city of Stornara, in the South of Italy, organised their first street art festival entitled ‘Stramurales‘. They invited Italian artists such as Bifido and Chekos, and myself to paint murals in the city centre.
I created two murals – the first one depicts a young woman laying in a field. She is surrounded by poppies, which are seen a lot in spring/summer around the city. I based my image on a photo of the charming French actress Marion Cotillard. The second artwork is a collaboration with paste-up artist Bifido. A girl is trying to reel the pedestrians in with a bank note, while a boy is holding a jar with a human victim inside. Watch out for these naughty kids!
“Daydreaming” – Zabou – 5x7m – Stornara, Italy – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
“The Catch” – Bifido & Zabou – 4x7m – Stornara, Italy – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
BASQUIAT
I took part in Upfest this year, a large street art and graffiti festival down in Bristol. For the occasion I painted a portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a famous American artist who also took part in the graffiti scene as SAMO in the 70s.
“Basquiat” – Zabou – 4,5x3m – Bristol, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
GROW
Number90, a venue and restaurant based in Hackney Wick, invited myself and Dale Grimshaw to paint two large-scale murals on their new building. While Dale painted a bright and bold portrait of an indigenous girl, I created this picture of a little girl planting a seed – next to an existing tree. I hope the mural shares a positive message about gardening and being eco-friendly to face the future.
“Plant A Seed” – Zabou – 9x12m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou (1,2,3,6) and Nelly Balazs (4,5)
THE OBSERVER
I travelled to Saint Die Des Vosges in France to paint the 14th permanent mural of the town. The project is organised by Galerie 36e Art since 2015 and gathers French and international street artists such as Fio Silva, Dulk, Mantra and RNST.
I painted a boy leaning on a rooftop and observing the pedestrians and cars passing by with a magnifying glass. He carries a slingshot in his backpocket, while a bird (“rouge-gorge”) is resting on his shoulder.
“The Observer” – Zabou – 7x4m – Saint Die, France – 2018
Photo credit: Galerie 36
ROBIN HOOD
The town of Beeston near Nottingham invited me to take part in their first street art festival. I painted a portrait of the legendary Robin Hood, holding his bow and ready to shoot! I should be back in Beeston very soon for more projects – stay tuned!
“Robin Hood” – Zabou – 4×2.5m – Beeston, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
AMY WITH COLOURS
The lovely yarn artist Villana is visiting from Mexico, and we seized the opportunity to create a new collaboration together: a mural of Amy Winehouse. We combined my style of portrait with her colourful touches of ribbons and yarns, floating in the wind.
“Amy II” – Zabou & Villana – 4×2.5m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
HERE COMES THE SUN
Number 90, a venue along the canal in Hackney Wick in London, invited me to jam for the day. To celebrate summertime, I created this mural based on a portrait of Jorja Smith, a UK-based soul singer, seen surrounded by sunflowers. I cut out and attached foam panels to create the illusion of the flowers coming out of the frame.
“Here Comes The Sun” – Zabou – 3.5x3m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
A CROWN OF FLOWERS
I was recently commissioned by Eccleston Yards to paint a portrait of Frida Kahlo, ahead of her London retrospective at the V&A Museum. The show will present a collection of her belongings and artefacts.
Moyses Stevens, London-based florists, have installed a real crown of flowers on the mural, which will last for a week only!
“Frida with Flowers” – Zabou – 5x5m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
AT THE BORDER
I returned to Israel for the second time with Artists4Israel, for this project we painted the border wall between Lebanon and Israel. The local community on the Israeli side, a moshav called Shtula, emigrated from Kurdistan decades ago. They mostly live from farming and agriculture, olive trees being one of their main growing. The wall was built to protect them from attacks from the extremist group Hezbollah, based in Lebanon. The wall is guarded by soldiers and tanks.
The first mural I created shows a girl watering an olive tree, while an actual tree reflects it on the Lebanese side of the wall. The idea is to plant the seeds, water and grow peace and unity between communities, through the border.
“In Bloom” – Zabou – 4x6m – Shtula, Israel – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
My second mural is a rather large one, it depicts two people flying and reaching out to each other’s hand. The man and woman are wearing clothes that are from Kurdish Jewish and Muslim traditions. On the background, the wall disappears and reveals the sky behind.
“Come Together“ – Zabou – 20x4m – Shtula, Israel – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
BACK IN CYPRUS!
I visited Cyprus once again for the Street Life festival, taking place each year in May. For this occasion, I decided to raise the issue of plastic in the ocean, a worldwide disaster. My mural shows a mermaid swimming while surrounded by plastic bottles and bags. The fairy tale is over!
“The Mermaid” – Zabou – 9x7m – Limassol, Cyprus – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
I also headed back to Petrofani, an abandoned Turk village near the UN buffer zone. I painted a little boy hiding his face in his hands and crawling into a ball, in the corner of a destroyed house.
“Ruins II” – Zabou – 2x2m – Petrofani, Cyprus – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
WAITING FOR YOU
By The Bridge, a lovely family run cafe in Hackney invited back to freshen up my previous mural painted on their front wall. I created a portrait of young actress and activist Yara Shahiri, with a view of the canal in the background. This piece also works as an temporary installation: I painted on a piece of cut cardboard her hand going over the railings. It looks as if she is leaning and resting on the actual railings. Another way to play with the space!
“Waiting For You” – Zabou – 2x3m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
INDONESIAN TOUR
Artist4Israel took a few international artists (Dheo, Paris, Muro, Rik Lee and myself) on a tour to Indonesia, painting across 3 different cities. We visited Denpasar, Kupang and Yogyakarta. The goal of the association is to spread a message of love, unity and peace across communities and religions.
Due to limited spray paint supplies available on the islands, I used mostly acrylic paint combined with brushes to create my artworks. The process was slower but the result is as nice as the sprays, maybe even better because of the visible brush strokes.
Out first stop was the city of Kupang on the island of Timor. I painted a mural playing with the surface, depicting a woman pulling the wall like a curtain to see the sky beneath. She is wearing a red ‘tais’, a traditional weaving created by local women. I hope this mural will inspire people to look forward, to be curious, inspired and to inspire others.
“Looking Forward” – Zabou – 7x7m – Kupang, Indonesia – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
Our second stop was in Yogyakarta, on the island of Java. We painted in a village on the outskirts of the city, where a small art community has established their base and gallery ‘Survive Garage’. I also painted a second mural in the city centre, despite the torrential rain!
“In Your Eyes” – Zabou – 3x4m – Yogyakarta, Indonesia – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
Our third stop was Denpasar, Bali. I wasn’t able to paint there but the street art and graffiti scene is definitely worth a visit. I’ll be back Indonesia..!
FRIDA IN BROADWAY MARKET
The portrait of Frida Kahlo in Broadway Market got a makeover due to previous damages. I’m much happier with this new version, it’s better looking and more colourful. I love the determination in her eyes – don’t mess with Frida!
“Frida” – Zabou – 3x5m – London, UK – 2018
Photo credit: Zabou
THIRSTY
I was invited by Frankie Roche to paint in West London, on a site that hosts artists’ studios. I created my first upside down piece of its kind, a portrait of an old man sipping on a straw (based on a photo by Willowpix). The straw is drawn on a metal pipe, ending in the sky. The mural is playful and interactive, triggering the audience’s surprise and imagination.
“Thirsty” – Zabou – 3x6m – London, UK – 2018
