The art organisation Garidell14 invited me to take part in a project taking place in La Cité de Refuge, a homeless shelter in Paris home to 350 people. The building, built by Le Corbusier, has a new extension especially dedicated to women.

I painted a portrait of Becca, a young woman who was homeless as a teenager. After being helped by a shelter in the UK she was able to find a way out through their football program. The wall had a light on the right hand side which I used to create the illusion of a match being lit. This reminded me of the tale of The Little Match Girl: a young girl found herself in the street on a cold night and lights matches to warm herself up, she sees comforting visions and hope in the flame.

“Glimmer of hope” – Zabou – 5x5m – Paris (13), France – 2020

Photo credit: Zabou

Angel Comedy offers free stand up and comedy shows every night in Islington, London. They are a community-oriented association with a mission to help comedians and artists by providing them a platform to express themselves, but also space, advice, workshops, podcasts and much more.

Four years ago I painted the front of their new venue, the Bill Murray pub, when it was just opening. Time for a refresh! The whole front and side of the building have now been included in the redesign. It features 6 portraits of British and international comedians (see details below) with a colourful background. It took about 8 days from the first outlines to complete the full mural.

“Richard Pryor” “Bill Murray” “Whoopi” “Mr Bean & Teddy” “Victoria Wood” “Billy Connolly” – Zabou – 20 x 2,5m – London, UK – 2019

Below: Richard Pryor

Below: Bill Murray, inspired by a photo by Roch Armando

Below: Whoopi Goldberg, inspired by a photo by Timothy White

Below: Rowan Aktinson as Mr Bean and his Teddy!

Below: Victoria Wood, inspired by a photo by Trevor Leighton

Below: Billy Connolly, inspired by a photo by Jeff Vespa

Photo credit: Zabou

My latest mural was made in collaboration with Centrepoint, a charity that helps young people who are homeless by providing accommodation and support for getting them back into education, employment or training. Around Christmas, an estimated 22 000 young people will be homeless.

I painted a portrait of Becca after reading her story. To me, Becca is one of these invisible heroes who has overcome a very dark experience with so much strength, and is now making a positive impact around her. She found herself without a roof at 14 after her dad committed suicide and her grandmother kicked her out (after finding out she was gay). She lived on the streets while going to school, then in a hostel where she discovered the Homeless Street Football programme. Football helped her found a way out: she excelled in it, got selected for the Homeless World Cup and she’s been volunteering as a coach since.

“Becca” – Zabou – 2x3m – London, UK – 2019

Photos credit: Zabou

Despite the cold, it was time to hit this new spot in London near the Kingsland Basin, kindly provided to me by the U7 Lounge. The wall was a complex surface to approach – featuring doors, a large ventilation pipe and a corner. As it is visible from the canal towpath, I chose to paint a seen from the canal life: a young man mooring his narrow boat. The artwork shows the man pulling his boat with a rope over his shoulder, while the rope is going over the pipe and around an anchor painted partly on the ground.

I personally love Regent’s Canal and the breeze of fresh air it gives to Londoners. Whereas you might be cycling along the towpath, walking, jogging or driving your narrow boat, it is a beautiful route that connects us in many ways.

Thanks to the U7 team for the support & to Luca my model!

“By The Canal” – Zabou – 14x5m – London, UK – 2019

Photo credit: Zabou

I met the two little twin sisters Success and Surprise through FutureHackney, a collective of photographers capturing portraits of East Londoners. I took photos of them holding each other and painted a mural at the By The Bridge Cafe in Hoxton.

I love the tenderness and the hope in their eyes. It’s been complicated times for Londoners between Brexit, protests, social displacement, high cost of living and I keep but wondering what does the future hold. At least, Success and Surprise have each other.

“Sisters” – Zabou – 3x4m – London, UK – 2019

Photos credit: Zabou

I flew to Haiti to paint in the capital Port-au-Prince for the 4th edition of the urban culture event FestiGraffiti. Haiti has been through widespread poverty and difficult times (lately: gas shortage and riots) and its people keep fighting for a better future.

I painted on a school three portraits of Haitian girls based on photographs by Maxence Bradley (left, right) and Fabrice Celony (middle portrait). I love how the girls look intensively at the audience, with pride and determination. The design was supposed to include many more elements (masks and outfits from the traditional carnival), sadly the wall owner didn’t let me paint the full design.

Big thanks to the FestiGraffiti team for organising despite the complicated context, to the volunteers and everyone I met during my trip.

“In their Eyes 2” – Zabou – Port-au-Prince, Haiti – 2019

Photo credit: (1) Unknown, All others: Zabou

This year the Cheltenham Paint Festival teamed up with the Literature Festival to celebrate their 70th anniversary, making it the world’s oldest literature festival. I decided to paint a portrait of Shakespear’s Hamlet, when the character recites his famous ‘to be or not to be’ monologue, wondering about his own existence and death. Hamlet is seen holding the skull and looking at it with sadness, while flowers are growing around it. Thanks to the organisers of the festival and Gustavo my model.

“Hamlet” – Zabou – 4x5m – Cheltenham, UK – 2019

Photo credit: Zabou

For the second edition of Eternelles Crapules festival, about 15 artists are invading the city of Moûtiers in France to create large-scale murals and graffiti pieces. I painted on the town’s book and media library a very special piece – it’s upside down! Using the triangular shape of the roof as the cover of the book, the mural shows a woman reading peacefully, lying in the grass and dandelions. Thanks to Maëlle and Lucas, the organisers, and to my model Audrey!

“Le Monde A L’Envers” – Zabou – 8x9m – Moûtiers, France – 2019

Photo credit: Zabou

I recently travelled to Würzburg in Germany, a lovely Bavarian city with beautiful architecture. I was invited by the restaurant ‘Frida‘ to paint a Frida Kahlo themed mural on the outside walls. I depicted Frida, looking away, smoking (based on a photography by Bernard Silberstein) surrounded by the decor of her ‘Casa Azul’ in Mexico.

“Frida & Her Blue House” – Zabou – 3,5mxVarious – Würzburg, Germany – 2019

Photo credit: Zabou

I spend some time in Cerignola in the South of Italy to paint my biggest mural to date: 40x12m. The project took 9 days to complete and it was very intense due to the heat and gigantic scale. The mural is located on the main wall of the new town’s sports hall and its goal is to encourage young people to take up sports.

It features two main portraits in the centre: a teenager boy looking happy and hopeful holding a basketball (face inspired by a photo by Colin Hawkins) and a teenager girl with her boxing gloves looking fierce (face inspired by a photo by Fang Xia Nuo). On the side there are two judokas fighting as well as a woman playing volleyball.

The background features the colours of Cerignola (yellow and blue) and the words NON MOLLARE MAI (“Never Give Up”). In Sports and in life, it’s important to fight for what you are passionate about, push through pain and efforts and never give up!

“Never Give Up (Non Mollare Mai)” – Zabou – 40x12m – Cerignola, Italy – 2019

Photo credit: Zabou

Vukovar is a town in Croatia, located at the border with Serbia. Despite a tragic history of destruction and emigration, the town has flourished into a beautiful open gallery, now hosting 18 large-scale murals organised by Vukovart.

For this project, I chose to depict the theme ‘Home is where your heart is’: even if you may not have a physical house, your home is always within you. The feeling of home can be memories, nature, family, a passion and a lot more. I painted a portrait of my Croatian friend Sanja, holding a key, with a house is set in transparency onto her chest/heart. The background has a mix of pastel colours (blues, pinks, oranges) and sights of Vukovar. The mural is located next to the Danube river, opposite a newly renovated path for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Home is where your heart is” – Zabou – 10x11m – Vukovar, Croatia – 2019

Photo credit: (1) Zabou, Rest: Vukovart

I spent a few days at the Mendès-France middle school in my hometown, Saumur, to paint a mural as well as doing workshops with some of the students. The artwork is located at the entrance of the school, in a covered courtyard where bikes can be parked. It features the cropped portraits of 3 art students: Léa, Jérémy and Tayana, and focuses on their eyes. The portraits are based on photographs by Jef Rabillon. One is looking straight at the audience, the other two are looking away, outside of the ‘frame’ of the mural. They could be looking forward, to their future.

“In Their Eyes” – Zabou – 20x2m – Saumur, France – 2019

Photo credit: Zabou

Garcibuey is a small village of a hundred inhabitants, located near Salamanca in Spain. Some of the locals, supported by the region and the city hall, organised its first street art project ‘Graffitibuey‘ to give a new life to the village by creating an art trail. About 15 artists gathered to paint murals focused on rural themes (agriculture, local fauna and flore, traditions etc.) for this first edition.

I painted the portrait of a vigneron to celebrate the strong wine maker tradition of the area. The man (based on a photo by TomazL) is working in the vineyard, holding a grape of ‘rufetes‘ (the local grapes). The background has blue and lavender tones.

“The Vigneron” – Zabou – 20x7m – Garcibuey, Spain – 2019

Photo credit: Zabou