MOLESON, Switzerland, Aug 26 – A French graffiti artist’s monumental mountaintop project aims to encourage a more contemplative approach to life by inspiring childlike wonder at clouds drifting by.
The 16,145 square foot painting “Un nouveau souffle” (A New Lease on Life) by French artist Saype, 32, graces the summit of the Moleson peak in the western Swiss Alps.
Using biodegradable paints made from natural pigments such as coal and chalk, it depicts a little boy blowing bubbles in an area known for its clouds, seeking to reflect the link with children’s skygazing, he told Reuters.
“I think we are in a world that is super heavy and we need a little lightness and I believe that the clouds are also a bit of a dream, the imagination,” he said.
“When we were kids we were always imagining shapes in the clouds. And I believe that now is also a moment we must breathe and — also with lightness — relearn to create by reverie the world of tomorrow.”
French artist Saype painted his massive 16,145 square foot painting with biodegradable pigments made out of charcoal, chalk, water and milk proteins. Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP
French artist Saype shows off his painting design of a boy blowing clouds. VALENTIN FLAURAUD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
French artist Saype hopes his artwork will encourage people to imagine “shapes in the clouds” as children would. EPA/VALENTIN FLAURAUDKnown for massive works of graffiti on grass best seen from the air, Saype has also adorned sites ranging from an impoverished shantytown in South Africa to the lawn in front of the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva.
