Ememem
A mosaic on a sidewalk by Ememem
A mosaic by Ememem
NationalityFrench
Known forMosaics
StyleStreet art
Websiteememem.art

Ememem is an anonymous French street artist based in Lyon. They[lower-alpha 1] create mosaics incorporating geometric motifs in cracked sidewalks and façades, a process they call flacking. Ememem creates art at night, so that it is generally discovered at dawn.

Art

A street artist,[2] Ememem creates mosaics incorporating geometric motifs in cracked sidewalks and façades. They describe this art as "a poem that everybody can read" and "a memory notebook of the city".[3] They created their first mosaic in 2011 in an alley in their hometown of Lyon, although they had already been working with ceramic; since 2016, they have created street mosaics across France,[3] and as of September 2021 also in Barcelona (including in the Plaça Urquinaona and Sant Antoni[4]) and Madrid[2] as well as Turín, Genova, Civitacampomarano, and Terracina in Italy, Oslo, Hamar and Stavanger in Norway, Melbourne,[4] Aberdeen in UK and Carlow in Ireland.[5]

Their mosaics can easily be found in Lyon, and some visitors to the city seek them out.[6] In 2021, Ememem was commissioned by the Société du Grand Paris to decorate the location of a new Grand Paris Express stop.[2]

Mosaic by Ememem in Lyon

In addition to their street art, they have created additional commissions for exhibitions, some of which have been purchased by art collectors.[1]

Ememem describes their art as flacking, a self-coined[7] neologism derived from the French flaque, meaning "puddle" or "pool".[5] They have cited Célébration du sol by Jean Dubuffet as an influence.[8]

Personal life

Ememem is French[4] and lives in Lyon, where they are known as le chirurgien des trottoirs, "the pavement surgeon"[3] or "the surgeon of the sidewalks".[6] They told Ynet that the name "Ememem" refers to the sound of their moped, which they ride when they go to create a mosaic.[9] They work at night to remain anonymous, and their identity is unknown; their work is generally found at dawn.[2] They have refused requests for in-person or radio interviews, and declined to state their age or gender.[1] They share images of their work on Instagram with the account "@ememem.flacking",[7] which had more than 169,000 followers as of May 28, 2023.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ememem's identity is unknown, and the artist has refused to share information such as age and gender.[1] This article therefore uses they/them pronouns for the artist.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Renout, Frank (July 20, 2021). "Anonieme kunstenaar Ememem is 'Moeder Teresa van slecht behandelde stoepen'" [Anonymous Artist Ememem is 'Mother Teresa of Badly Treated Sidewalks']. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mases, Carlota Bisbe (2021-09-05). "Ememem, el artista callejero que rellena las grietas del pavimento con mosaicos de colores" [Ememem, the street artist who fills the cracks in the pavement with colored mosaics]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  3. 1 2 3 Ebert, Grace (2021-05-13). "Ceramic Mosaics Mend Cracked Sidewalks, Potholes, and Buildings in Vibrant Interventions by Ememem". Colossal. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  4. 1 2 3 "Street artist Ememem gives makeover to roads damaged from riot". Catalan News. November 20, 2019. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  5. 1 2 Meek, Natasha (April 19, 2021). "The French pavement street artist Ememem from Lyon going viral in Yorkshire". The Press. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  6. 1 2 Chuzeville, Baptiste (2021-09-22). "Ememem, l'artiste chirurgien des rues lyonnaises" [Ememem, the artist-surgeon of the streets of Lyon]. Le Tout Lyon (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  7. 1 2 Reneau, Annie (2021-05-25). "French street artist fills ugly, jagged potholes with gorgeous, colorful mosaics". Upworthy. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  8. ↑ Rostagnat, Mélanie (2019-10-09). "Collage, mosaïques: les 6 street artistes du moment à Paris" [Collage, mosaics: the 6 street artists of the moment in Paris]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  9. 1 2 מוספיר, דר (2021-06-15). "'למדתי את הרחוב כל חיי': האמן האלמוני שמתקן את מדרכות אירופה" ['I have studied the street all my life': the anonymous artist who repairs the sidewalks of Europe]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2021-11-28.
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