the essential
Since the Christmas holidays, the two southern Tarnais towns have seen colorful works flourish on the walls of their town centers, in the street art spirit. And a question on everyone’s lips: who is behind these creations? We got our hands on its author, “Hansel Pixel”, who explains his approach.
In this gloomy weather, they brought a little cheerfulness to the city center. In Castres, there are six of them: the CO logo on the ticket office of the Pierre-Fabre stadium, the Maisons sur l’Agout near Etienne coffee shop, a helicopter passing Henri IV, a rocket on a real estate agency of the Place Soult, a nurse’s coat above the entrance to the training institute and a train carriage at the entrance to the station. In Aussillon, animals: a turtle above a circus poster, a goose and its babies on the walls of a school group, and a greedy fox in the parking lot of a bakery.
These colorful mosaics all bloomed during the Christmas holidays in a short time. They have not gone unnoticed by the population. With a question on everyone’s lips: who is behind these creations? Only one clue: a sticker always nearby, where we can read Hansel Pixel. A simple internet search and an Instagram page found allowed us to get in touch with their author.
On the artist: the man says he came to Tarn for personal reasons. His age ranges between 30 and 40 years old. That’s all we were able to gather from the few minutes of hidden call interviews. 43 mosaics were posed during his travels between Strasbourg, Paris, Reims, Lille, Calella, Aussillon, Castres and Clermont (Oise).
-His motivation? “Bring the street back to everyone, surprise people. Public space is dedicated to three things: selling, spreading political messages and getting around. I find it good that everyone can put their little touch in to surprise. If you are very good at drawing with chalk, you can draw on the ground, if you are a very good singer, do it in the street. It’s a way of communicating and leaving stones behind.” Hence the name Hansel Pixel, in reference to Hansel and Gretel. He continues: “Something funny: the first people who notice my pieces are children. They are observant and always have a critical eye. Adults have their noses on their phones or are focused on their work trips. »
Others in preparation for 2025
In Castres, the works were glued in one night. “I had prepared an itinerary. It’s a very prepared mission, we leave no room for improvisation so as not to get caught. Except for the helicopter, Henri IV passage, because the spot discovered was perfect. I am very attached to this aesthetic. Invader is the precursor and leader of the movement, I got on board. There are a few of us in France who put pixels like that in the streets. »
On the choice of drawings: “There are personal nods and homages to cities, to what they can offer,” explains the artist, who creates his works using tesserae, glued to the back on a plastic sheet before the complete mosaic is glued to the wall with putty. And to announce, by way of conclusion: “I will have to come back once or twice this year to Castres. So there will surely be others.” We will therefore have to keep our eyes open in 2025.
