Ememem
{{Short description|French street artist}}
{{Not to be confused with|Eminem}}
{{Redirect|Flacking|the well stimulation technique|Fracking}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Ememem
| known_for = Mosaics
| website =
| style = Street art
| image = Ememem 2 (cropped).jpg
| alt = A mosaic on a sidewalk by Ememem
| caption = A mosaic by Ememem
| nationality = French
}}
Ememem is an anonymous French street artist based in Lyon. They{{Efn|Ememem's identity is unknown, and the artist has refused to share information such as age and gender. This article therefore uses they/them pronouns for the artist.}} create mosaics incorporating geometric motifs in cracked sidewalks and façades, a process they call flacking. Ememem creates art at night, so that it is generally discovered at dawn.
Art
A street artist,{{Cite web|last=Mases|first=Carlota Bisbe|date=2021-09-05|title=Ememem, el artista callejero que rellena las grietas del pavimento con mosaicos de colores|trans-title=Ememem, the street artist who fills the cracks in the pavement with colored mosaics|url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/cribeo/cultura/20210905/7695547/ememem-artista-callejero-rellena-grietas-pavimento-mosaicos-colores.html|access-date=2021-11-27|website=La Vanguardia|language=es}} Ememem creates mosaics incorporating geometric motifs in cracked sidewalks and façades. They describe this art as "a poem that everybody can read" and "a memory notebook of the city".{{Cite web|last=Ebert|first=Grace|date=2021-05-13|title=Ceramic Mosaics Mend Cracked Sidewalks, Potholes, and Buildings in Vibrant Interventions by Ememem|url=https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2021/05/ememem-street-mosaics/|access-date=2021-11-27|website=Colossal }} They created their first mosaic in 2011 in an alley in their hometown of Lyon, although they had already been working with ceramic; since 2016, they have created street mosaics across France, and {{As of|2021|September|lc=y}} also in Barcelona (including in the Plaça Urquinaona and Sant Antoni{{Cite web|date=November 20, 2019|title=Street artist Ememem gives makeover to roads damaged from riot|url=https://www.catalannews.com/culture/item/street-artist-ememem-gives-makeover-to-roads-damaged-from-riot|access-date=2021-11-27|website=Catalan News }}) and Madrid as well as Turín, Genova, Civitacampomarano, and Terracina in Italy, Oslo, Hamar and Stavanger in Norway, Melbourne, Aberdeen in UK and Carlow in Ireland.{{Cite web|last=Meek|first=Natasha|date=April 19, 2021|title=The French pavement street artist Ememem from Lyon going viral in Yorkshire|url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/19244057.french-pavement-street-artist-lyon-going-viral-yorkshire/|access-date=2021-11-27|website=The Press}}
Their mosaics can easily be found in Lyon, and some visitors to the city seek them out.{{Cite web|last=Chuzeville|first=Baptiste|date=2021-09-22|title=Ememem, l'artiste chirurgien des rues lyonnaises|trans-title=Ememem, the artist-surgeon of the streets of Lyon|url=https://www.le-tout-lyon.fr/ememem-l-artiste-chirurgien-des-rues-lyonnaises-18426.html|access-date=2021-11-27|website=Le Tout Lyon|language=fr}} In 2021, Ememem was commissioned by the {{Ill|Société du Grand Paris|fr}} to decorate the location of a new Grand Paris Express stop.
File:"Flacking" d'Ememem à Lyon, 2021.jpg]]
In addition to their street art, they have created additional commissions for exhibitions, some of which have been purchased by art collectors.{{Cite web|last=Renout|first=Frank|date=July 20, 2021|title=Anonieme kunstenaar Ememem is 'Moeder Teresa van slecht behandelde stoepen'|trans-title=Anonymous Artist Ememem is 'Mother Teresa of Badly Treated Sidewalks'|url=https://nos.nl/l/2390123|access-date=2021-11-27|website=Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|language=nl}}
Ememem describes their art as flacking, a self-coined{{Cite web|last=Reneau|first=Annie|date=2021-05-25|title=French street artist fills ugly, jagged potholes with gorgeous, colorful mosaics|url=https://www.upworthy.com/french-artist-makes-mosaics-out-of-potholes|access-date=2021-11-27|website=Upworthy }} neologism derived from the French {{Lang|fr|flaque}}, meaning "puddle" or "pool". They have cited {{Lang|fr|Célébration du sol}} by Jean Dubuffet as an influence.{{Cite news|last=Rostagnat|first=Mélanie|date=2019-10-09|title=Collage, mosaïques: les 6 street artistes du moment à Paris|trans-title=Collage, mosaics: the 6 street artists of the moment in Paris|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/sortir-paris/les-6-street-artists-du-moment-a-paris-20191009|access-date=2021-11-28|newspaper=Le Figaro|language=fr}}
Personal life
Ememem is French and lives in Lyon, where they are known as {{Lang|fr|le chirurgien des trottoirs}}, "the pavement surgeon" or "the surgeon of the sidewalks". They told Ynet that the name "Ememem" refers to the sound of their moped, which they ride when they go to create a mosaic.{{Cite news|last=מוספיר|first=דר|date=2021-06-15|title='למדתי את הרחוב כל חיי': האמן האלמוני שמתקן את מדרכות אירופה|language=he|trans-title='I have studied the street all my life': the anonymous artist who repairs the sidewalks of Europe|work=Ynet|url=https://www.ynet.co.il/architecture/article/SJTXVCSjO|access-date=2021-11-28}} They work at night to remain anonymous, and their identity is unknown; their work is generally found at dawn. They have refused requests for in-person or radio interviews, and declined to state their age or gender. They share images of their work on Instagram with the account "@ememem.flacking", which had more than 169,000 followers {{As of|2023|May|28|df=US|lc=y}}.
See also
Notes
{{Noteslist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons-cat-inline|Art by Ememem}}
- {{Instagram|id=ememem.flacking|name=@ememem.flacking}}
- [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2021/may/01/the-artist-who-fills-potholes-with-mosaics-in-pictures The Guardian gallery of mosaics by Ememem]
{{Street art}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)