Lot 38

(38 x 39cm framed)


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Outre Gallery, Sydney, 2007 (accompanied by original purchase receipt)
Private collection, Sydney

Anonymous urban artist Invader's tile mosaics in the shape of 8-bit video game characters (named 'invaders') are found cemented and glued to building facades around the world - more precisely, in 80 cities over 20 countries, totalling 4056 invaders as of today. Beginning with the artist's home in Paris, 'invasions' have been staged in waves over the past 20 years from New York to London, to Istanbul and even Perth and Melbourne.

The anonymous artist who only appears in public masked was inspired by the arcade video games Space Invaders, Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros. released during the 1970s and 1980s when he was a child. His pixelated little creatures inspired by the characters in these games are freed from inside the games and installed in public spaces in an effort to decontextualise art and bring it to those who do not have access to institutions. He calls these creatures "the perfect icons of our time, a time where digital technologies are the heartbeat of our world". (1) While the artist is a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts, one of the most renowned schools worldwide and attended by greats such as Géricault, Delacrois, Degas and Renoir, his artistic practice (which some term graffiti or a game) aims to break from such institutions which he considers to be confining. At the same time, Invader considers urban spaces and institutions to be "two very complimentary sources of energy" and since 2000 has created mosaics for many exhibitions worldwide (2).

While most Space Invaders are found in highly-populated and visible locations such as above sidewalks, highways, shopfronts and crossings, there are also more covert locations in which one can discover a Space Invader, such as at the top of the Eiffel Tower. The highest located Space Invader is found at the International Space Station (2015, 248 miles altitude) and the lowest is found on the ocean floor in the Cancun Bay in Mexico, only accessible to experienced divers.

Invader estimates that about 15% of his artworks have been removed from public spaces, oftentimes by individuals hoping to sell them. To combat this he has engineered defence tactics - the type of tile he now uses breaks very easily, so if a passer-by with malintent tries to deinstall a work they will be left with broken pieces of tile rather than a complete work.

The artist began selling limited edition 'invasion kits' on his website to support his 'invasion waves'. These ready-to-use tile kits are now in high demand on the secondary market as they present an opportunity to both own a Space Invader and participate in the worldwide invasion of these little critters.

Marcella Fox | Sydney Manager

(1) The Official Website of Invader, About, https://mail.space-invaders.com/about/
(2) Ibid.