BESSS Interview about his project “LYA” – 22-05-2021

Street Art piece that has modified the urban space: LYA

Location: ZOO ART SHOW (LYON)

Year : 2020

1- If you had to choose a Street Art piece that you created, as a transformation of the urban space, which one would you choose? How does this Street Art piece denote urban space metamorphosis?

This piece is close to my heart because it represents my daughter with a Panda. The place in which it was made is an atypical place in the center of Lyon (FRANCE) which was carried out in an old building of an emblematic French brand, of 4000 square meters.

2- Why did you make this Street Art piece in this urban space? Was it the town hall or the property owner who authorized or asked you to create it? Can we consider this work as illegal/vandalism or legal, what is your criteria?

It’s a piece that was requested of me during the ZOO ART SHOW, which is one of the biggest graffiti exhibitions in Europe. This is done legally, but this place truly represents the culture of graffiti. this on 3 floors, with categories, vandal, portraits, contemporary etc … This place is the perfect place to present our art, big names of graffiti are present there, such as SETH, NEBAY, MARKO93, ASTRO etc .. .
This place is painted from floor to ceiling, the entire surface is covered, and this allows visitors to better understand our art, that’s what I liked about this project, which will be visible again in May 2021.

3- What is the message you want to communicate through this Street Art piece? Is it related to the urban space where you did it?

In this time of pandemic, I all just wanted to bring a little poetry to the place, just to make people smile, nothing more, but I think everyone needs some lightness right now.

4- How was this work integrated into the urban space? What was the interaction that the inhabitants of this city had with your project? Did they participate in its creation?

It was not easy to integrate this fresco into the building, because necessarily, painting on the stairs is not easy. But that was the whole challenge, and that’s why I made a big panda that takes a good part of the stairs, I admit it (laughs)

5- Do you think it is important that the local people participate during the production of your work and that they become artists modifying the urban space or do you prefer to carry out your projects alone without anyone seeing you?

I am used to leading workshops with locals, but for this fresco, that was not the goal, afterwards if someone decides to intervene on it, that’s graffiti too, sometimes you have to agree to be “ironed”.

6- According to you, what is the criteria that determines your Street Art work modifies the urban space and why is your work considered aesthetically well done?

From the moment we take over space, taking into account shapes, curves, etc … that we have analyzed all this, it is already a good start.

Then to say that my job is well done, it is rather the feedback from people who confirm it to me.

But I work on portraits a lot and I have noticed over time that portraits speak a lot more and seduce people more, so it’s okay.

7-What is the “historical future” of your work? Should we take care of it, preserve it and repaint it as if it were a museum’s piece of art? Or should it be allowed to age with the city itself?

I like the feeling that my fresco ages with the place, in order to integrate in time with this piece of street.

My goal is not necessarily that my fresco is considered as a work of museum, not in this specific case.

8- How does your work add value to the urban space in which it is produced?

In this exhibition, what is good is that it is part of a visit circuit, and above all that it is placed in the staircase, so in full view of everyone, it accompanies the visit and the people can see her very close

9- What were the difficulties that you encountered during the completion of your work modifying the urban space?

As I told you, the main difficulty was the fact that it was in a staircase, suddenly not easy to do a lot of details, because it is difficult to reach certain areas sometimes.

10- Why is urban art important to modify the urban space? What sort of projects are you planning to do in the future ?

Urban art for me is precisely an art that can embellish certain spaces, abandoned, but also prestigious, such as hotels, restaurant halls, clothing shops etc …

And a lot of people, from completely different backgrounds really love our art, even if they prefer to call it street art and not graffiti;) I have a lot of great projects to come, so a collaboration with a skate brand, but also a huge project that will see the light of day in May 2021 in the metropolis of Lyon, which I cannot speak yet, but I will keep you at running fast;)

Interview conducted by Art Bill – journalist and owner of Street Art In Action.

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