Shepard Fairey calls for unity with street art installation at Eiffel Tower
Shepard Fairey unveils a new street art installation inside the Eiffel Tower, appealing for 'unity'
![Earth Crisis, at the Eiffel Tower ahead of climate change conference COP21 in Paris](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JHFV6Sek9iqhu8HALeYZm9-415-80.jpg)
Unveiled today at the Eiffel Tower, American street artist and environmental activist Shepard ‘OBEY’ Fairey’s Earth Crisis artwork ushers in the upcoming world climate change conference, COP21, and in light of the recent attacks it comes charged with even deeper meaning.
Suspended between the first and second floors of La Grande Dame, the spherical artwork measures eight metres in diameter and is splashed with interlocking mandalas and floral motifs symbolising harmony and cautionary images representing threats to the planet. ‘The project now has a greater degree of weight and I don’t know if I’m worthy. I hope that looking at how interconnected things are, which is part of the aim of the piece, will encourage unity rather than fear and division,’ says Fairey.
Commissioned by the pioneering Paris-based Galerie Itinerrance, also behind the monumental Tour Paris 13 and Djerbahood projects, Fairey’s piece is the first street art installation to ever be mounted on the global landmark and ultimate emblem of France.
Fairey first started out designing campaign material for influential environmental groups in the mid-90s and through subsequent subversive and poignant poster campaigns and artworks has prompted critical analysis in the public through street art. ‘Essentially I’m trying to fight apathy,' he says.
Instantly recognisable, his accessible and highly stylised stencil (anti-)propaganda art has catapulted him to the top of the list of most celebrated street artists. His work has been shown across the world from the New York MoMa to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, making him one of the few artists of his genre to blur the line between high-culture and a subculture often dismissed as lowbrow.
The imposing, spherical piece is suspended between the first and second floors of La Grande Dame and is the first street art installation ever to be mounted on the iconic structure.
A poster Fairey designed for Paris, based on his 'Make Art Not War' poster for the US ten years ago
INFORMATION
Earth Crisis is on view until 26 November 2015. For more information, visit the Eiffel Tower's website
ADDRESS
Champ de Mars
5 Avenue Anatole France
75007 Paris
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published