Yesterday I wrote a post about Marseille France and in it I talked a little about the Le Panier district of the city. It's the oldest neighborhood of Marseille and actually dates back to 600 B.C. when it was first discovered by the Greeks.
Today I'm going to talk a little bit more about the neighborhood but with focus on the street art I saw there.
Its an area that is basically known for its street art.
There are literally murals all of the walls and every corner of every building. It's to the point where its almost like walking through an outdoor urban art gallery.
I'm not an expert on street art by any means and the only artist I recognized on the spot was Invader. But I've been a pretty big fan of Invaders work for quite some time now.
I've talked about him a few times already but for a very brief recap he is a French street artist that specializes in pixilated art based on the 8bit classic video game Space Invaders.
Actually, he is sort of the OG when it comes to pixilated tile work.
There is a somewhat large cluster of his work located in Le Panier, which can be spotted easily.
Invader's work isn't just confined to that neighborhood though. His work can be found all over the city of Marseille. For instance, the large piece below was seen on an ordinary home near the Notre Dame Cathedral. A few of the others in the photographs above were also seen at various locations outside the district.
I noticed that a lot of the artwork in Le Panier was similar and I could easily tell that it was all done by the same artist, though I didn't know his (or her) name.
I looked it up online and learned that it was done by a local artist that goes by the name Nhobi.
According to an online bio he is an artist from Rio de Janeiro Brazil who moved to Marseille back in 2012 and basically made a home for himself in the French city.
He has a ton of pieces up in Le Panier so its not surprising that he is the most recognizable artist in the city.
The one below is one of my favorites by him.
I like the placement and I like the colors. I think they really fit for the area next to the door.
A quote by Nhobi:
Art is not just a job, it's a way of life that is, an integral part of its history.
A way of leaving an eternal trace and defying death.
Le Panier has a long history relating to street art and something that is pretty cool and interesting is that the city has embraced it as something to be celebrated in the city.
They don't try to hide it at all or cover it up in anyway really.
In fact, the Marseille tourism website even mentions a street art walking tour hosted by some of the artists themselves. It listed as something unique to do within the city.
I really like the art on the outside of this bar. It looks very intentional to me, as if it was commissioned by the shop owner, though it likely wasn't.
Not surprisingly, a lot of the art is still completed under the cover of darkness and many shop owners wake up in the morning to find that the walls of their business have been painted over.
But again, the Le Panier district celebrates their street art so I doubt that any of them mind. I'm sure many are actually excited that their walls were chosen.
The district has a reputation of being artsy and trendy after all and you really can't call yourself artsy if you don't have art on your walls.
The mural below was one of the longest we saw.
Its pretty intricate and contains an assortment of styles.
It looks like the work of multiple artists to me.
There are a lot of small pieces as well that are scattered around.
Some are spray painted and some are glued paper.
Others are stencils.
Many are large and intricate like the one below.
There are all sorts of different themes and styles.
Marseille built on the back of a whale (above). My guess is that this has some sort of meaning to it though I don't know what it would be.
I'm not a huge fan of the one above but I can appreciate the style of artwork.