Invader was here

INVADER and his works around the world

Invader is a French artist born in the 1970s. He studied at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts (famous art school) in Paris and specialized in urban mosaics. His first mosaic was installed in the Bastille district in Paris in 1996, it is a Space Invader which he nicknamed “the scout”, but it was actually two years later that the invasion would really begin. At this stage, he created and displayed in all the cities of the world, usually in strategic places where it could be seen by all, but we also find his mosaics far from the big cities (as for example in Forcalquier, La Ciotat, …) or in unusual places such as at the bottom of the bay of Cancun, where in 2007, two works were deposited. One of his “space2” works even went into space aboard the Ariane 5 rocket to be installed on board the International Space Station.

His mosaics evolved over time, we no longer find only extraterrestrials (Spaces Invaders) but real characters, imaginary characters or objects (fish, an octopus, the pink panther, Woody Allen, etc …). His works are unique and are referenced in a database and mapped by the artist himself. Like many Urban Art Artists, his works are often installed quickly and without permission, usually at night. Like Banksy, he wishes to remain anonymous and appears most of the time wearing a mask or disguised (Some of his “anonymous” outfits can be found at the exhibition “Invader was here” at MaMo).

The “invasion” is now spreading all over the world and Marseille is the 2nd largest French city to have been “colonized”.

There are now 3,954 Space Invaders throughout the world.

Invading in Marseille, an open-air exhibition!

At the beginning of summer 2020, Invader invaded the urban space of the Phocaean city to display its creatures. The artist, who has already been here twice in the past, has achieved a remarkable feat this year by installing more than 80 works of art in just two months! It is the invasion on the Planet Marseille! We count today in Marseille nearly a hundred mosaics distributed from Les Goudes to L’Estaque! The purpose of the game now is to find all these mosaics hidden in different neighbourhoods of Marseille! A real treasure hunt.

Invader set up his ‘base-camp’ in the atypical MaMo museum (Art Center located on the roof of the famous building le Corbusier), and thus could prepare and work in secret all summer long. The MaMo is today the nerve center of this open-air exhibition!
The mosaics were first installed around the MaMo Art Center, and then in the city, the Artist speaks of “urban acupuncture”.