If you’re ever in Lyon, don’t miss out on the stunning colorful mosaics of this unique artist.
Ememem is an anonymous artist based in Lyon. He describes himself as a ‘sidewalk poet, a son of bitumen’.
He rose in popularity thanks to his unusual healing of cracked potholes and walls-he’s mending them with impressive mosaic designs or a process he calls ‘flacking’.
The name is a play on the French word ‘flaque’ or a puddle of patch.
Impressive Art: Making Potholes & Wall Cracks Beautiful
Ememem started this project in 2016 after he was ‘hypnotized’ by a scarred surface of one old alley where he had a workshop.
He says of his work that is the story of the city: where the cobblestones are misplaced or where a truck took off an asphalt piece. He adds they all become a flack.
One could say that this artist is on a mission; to fix the broken parts of his city with splash of color. The once eyesore-causing holes and cracks become a thing of beauty.
The Amazing ‘Pavement Surgeon’
In his home city of Lyon, Ememem is known as the ‘pavement surgeon’. Repairing sidewalks and facades, he says of his mosaics that they’re a poem everyone can read.
A memory notebook of his hometown, he uses intricate geometric motifs with pristine tiles to cover the cracks.
He says his mosaics unveil the life of his city.
His first mosaic dates some 10 years ago when he was in a damaged alley in Lyon. At the time, he was working in ceramic and translated the practice to rejuvenate the outdoor area.
When he started doing what he does today, he was aware that he discovered something that will continue until the rest of his life.
If you’re in Paris, you can spot some of his newest stuff around the Grand Paris Express. On June 8th, you can check him out at a group show at Florian Daguet Bresson.
In the meantime, follow him on Instagram and his website.
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