Paris: a new fresco by street artist Seth comes to life on rue Émile-Deslandres in the 13th arrondissement

In the 13th arrondissement, the walls have memory. Harnessed and perched in the air on his elevator, Seth is busy this week on a large wall of a social housing building on rue Émile-Deslandres, at the intersection of rue Croulebarbe. A new fresco comes to life, in a district that has become, since 2010, one of the most unique open-air museums in Paris.

This return is not trivial. Seth’s old work already adorned this same wall before being covered during a thermal insulation operation for the building. The 13th century town hall had made a commitment: to bring back the same artist once the work was completed. Promise kept.

Seth, whose real name is Julien Malland, is far from being unknown in the district. For more than twenty years, this 53-year-old Parisian has displayed his colorful characters, often children carrying dreams and symbols, on walls all over the world. In the 13th century, his works already mark the boulevard Vincent-Auriol, a true backbone of Parisian street art with its fifty painted facades, but also the Butte-aux-Cailles and the Louise-Bourgeois school. He recently set up his studio in the district, becoming, as the town hall points out, “a 13th century artist” in his own right.

“One of the most luminous French artists”

His work goes far beyond the borders of the district. In February 2022, three days after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Seth spontaneously took to the streets to paint “Ukraine on the Move”, rue Buot, in the same 13th century: a little girl with a blue and yellow flag trampling tanks. An image that has become a symbol, even reproduced on the walls of an anti-bombing shelter and transformed into a Ukrainian postal stamp.

In 2019, it was he who signed a giant fresco on a gable in the 20th arrondissement in homage to the street artist Zoo Project, who died at the age of 23. The artist, also a writer, illustrator and editor, also collaborates with the business world. He notably illustrated the “Cahiers Engagés” of the Esquisse brand for E.Leclerc, around the theme of equal opportunities. This week, it was Michel-Édouard Leclerc, president of the eponymous brand, who welcomed his meeting with Seth at work, calling him “one of the most prolific, most luminous French urban artists”.