French Street Artist Invader - Everything You Want to Know
Invader is a French artist that's intriguing, clever and has secretly been placing his mosaic work of alien invaders all over Paris for the last 20 years.
"I define myself as an UFA, an Unidentified Free Artist. I chose Invader as my pseudonym and I always appear behind a mask. As such, I can visit my own exhibitions without any visitors knowing who I really am even if I stand a few steps away from them." - Invader
As you may know I love researching and exploring new places for my readers, especially historical, fun, and secret (sometimes even weird) places and facts on Paris. Today I thought I'd share what I know about the famous French street artist Invader, and where to find his art.
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Finding Artwork by Invader in Paris
Street art may not appeal to everyone, and on my first visit to Montmartre I was sceptical, but the work of the French artist known as Invader (sometimes called Flash Invader by locals), is exciting and fun and it's an artist I really love.
In Montmartre you will find an abundance of art stuck on walls, painted on walls or painted on footpaths and it's a reason lots of tourists visit the area. We explore Montmartre on our tour but we also look out for the work of my favourite artist Flash Invader everywhere we go in Paris, because he has 1,300 works of art all over the city. Paris is like one huge open air art gallery!
Invader mosaic street art in Montmartre, Paris
Invader and Space Invaders
Let's find out more ... Invader is an artist that used to play an arcade game called Space Invaders. It came out in 1978 and was hugely popular in the 1980's when he was a child. Space Invaders is one of the most addictive games that has ever been made and it's very simplistic. You are a space ship who must destroy the invading enemy space ships as they descend upon your little 8-bit world. You use the [SPACE] bar to fire your gun at them and blow each ship to pieces. Flash Invader modelled his mosaics on the pixelated art used in the game.
The game's not very trendy anymore and arcade and computer games have become much more sophisticated but Invader was sad when he was playing this game because he was thinking of all those little aliens and invaders stuck in the screen of the computer, so he decided to secretly free them all in Paris.
Invader's art in Montmartre with other artists' work
So there now are 1,300 invaders in Paris, stuck on walls of all types of buildings. Monuments, fences, government buildings, shops, residential houses, museums and galleries - if there is a flat place, then Invader will likely place his mosaic art there.
Working in Secret
Invader has to do this secretly because it is considered graffiti and he is cementing his mosaics on property he does't own. He’s an amazing person who has managed to pull this off for 20 years without being caught by the police or public citizens. Due to the shift in thought and appreciation for his work he was able to reveal his identity a year ago in 2018 without worry about being arrested.
His work is even very collectible with originals, prints and kits available through auction houses and art galleries. Original, signed mosaic tile kits can sell for €15,000 and prints sell for as much as €10,000 on art gallery sites like Graffiti Street.
When he puts a mark on the side of a building, it actually gives value to the house which is another reason he will not be arrested because most property owners don’t mind. Even national monuments like the Opera Garnier of Paris have an artwork (it's around the back of the building). Invader carefully colour matches his work when it is placed on a national monument or building so it blends in.
Street Artist Invader's App - Flash Invader
Invader has created an app called Flash Invader (available on iTunes) with the intent that it will help you appreciate his art - it is also just good fun! You take a photo, upload it and get points for each mosaic you find around Paris and around the world. Paris has 1,300 because it's the city where he started, but there are also 200 in New York. They are all original works of street art. There are even two mosaics in Australia. There are, as at today, 3,781 invaders (artworks) in 78 cities around the world.
Invader mosaic street art in Montmartre, Paris
Flash Invader looks like Pokemon Go, but he started to do these 20 years ago and of course this is an artistic process. So for example the very little mosaics, they are only 10 points, the larger 50 points and the harder to find ones worth 100 points. But it's not about making it a game, Invader just wanted us to participate in his artistic process by creating our own mosaic of invaders in our phone.
Invasion of Versailles by Invader
"Two years of work and 12 waves of invasion were necessary to invade the city of Versailles. My main idea was to offer an alternative to the visit of the castle and to the major exhibitions of contemporary art which are regularly organised there. The end of this invasion coincides with the opening of a new show entitled "Visible / Invisible"! And even if I'm not part of the official program, it could not be better since about 40 space invaders are now hidden in the city of Versailles." - Invader
Mosaic artworks were installed from June 2017 to May 2019 around Versailles so that now there are a total of 40 space invaders hidden around the city of Versailles. Our tour group is looking forward to finding these artworks at Versailles as well as in Paris on our app game Flash Invaders.
ArtCurial auction house on Champs-Elysées, Paris
Artwork of Invader Reaches Record Prices at Auction
Invader's artwork is worth a lot of money and ArtCurial, an esteemed Parisian auction house (pictured above on the Champs-Elysées) has this to say about the auction of his artwork and in particular his piece "Vienna" when it was recently auctioned:
"Mosaic artwork reached a new world record this evening at a live auction in Paris. The world watched as “Vienna”, a large mosaic ceramic tile panel was auctioned off as part of ArtCurial Urban Art auction.
Art book store in ArtCurial auction house, Paris
There were many Invader pieces that sold for great prices, including mosaic kits and rubikcubism work, however all eyes were hypnotised on Lot 330! Lot 330 was Invader’s “Vienna” mosaic from 2008. This work was created at Quartier 21 + Museum Quartier in Vienna as part of the Invaded Bridges – Street Art Passage project in 2008.
The large ceramic tiles on two assembled panels; signed, dated and titled on the back measured 165cm high by 236cm wide and stole the show! The estimate was 250,000 – 350,000 €. Auctioneer Arnaud Oliveux brought the hammer down at 280,000 €."
So gosh, if Invader wanted to stick his artwork on my house I would certainly not be calling the police or stopping him from working, I would invite him in for a glass of wine, give him a kiss and say "Merci beaucoup"!!
When you're in Paris, New York or the cities Invader has invaded, look out for his art, collect the points on Flash Invader and enjoy this very unique art by the amazing artist Invader. His official website with heaps of cool stuff is Space Invaders - go check it out.
