'Beyond Walls'
There are those who could cross it out as goodism , that word that is used so much lately to discredit moderate people who, in these times of polarization, invite us to meet, to dialogue, to bring positions closer together.
There are those who could call him deluded , thinking that art can, in effect, be at the service of society, of the human being; contribute to stirring consciences that end up clamoring for a better world and send a message of optimism, of the desire to live together.
The first is subjective, that each one thinks what he wants. The second, the artist SAYPE has just demonstrated it with a giant fresco drawn at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
The project has started in Paris and will be around the world for three years
carry by title Beyond Walls and its 15,000 square meters (600 x 25 meters) take advantage of the entire extension of the Champs de Mars to draw a huge human chain of intertwined hands that plays repeatedly the hand that the rescuers extend when helping the shipwrecked people in the central Mediterranean, the one they cross to leave Libya behind in a flight through the deadliest migratory route in the world.
And it is that this work of art is a tribute to the NGO SOS Méditerranée and the humanitarian work it carries out. In fact, SAYPE He has painted each of the hands from photographs of rescuers and anonymous people. Each one with its own history, with its own brands.
Beyond Walls is a universal work, which speaks of a plural humanity in which the singularities of the individual are present, respected and endowed with rights.
For its elaboration, The city of Paris closed the Champs de Mars to the public for the first time for two weeks to allow an artist to work. He reopened them on June 15, and from then on, how long Beyond Walls lasts cannot be predicted. Because Beyond Walls is also an ephemeral work developed with 1,000 liters of biodegradable paint within the discipline of land art, that art that blends in with the landscape.
SAYPE rests on his work
Beyond Walls will survive as long as it takes for grass to grow and for people to step on it, but it won't end here. And it is that as it is implicit in its DNA this project will cross borders, physical and mental, to travel for five years with 20 cities around the world and create the largest human chain. ** Andorra, from July 13 to 18, and Geneva, in September,** are your next stops. Then they consider other destinations such as ** Berlin , Belfast, Buenos Aires , London , Melbourne , New York or Nairobi .**
“The Parisian project is iconic” SAYPE explains to Traveler.es, referring to what is his greatest work to date. “It is the first stage of our trip around the world. I am very happy to start this adventure in Paris, city of light, and I hope that this city once again illuminates the rest of the world”.
It is not the first time that SAYPE has worked on a project of this type with SOS Méditerranée. He already did it in 2018 in Geneva and the success was such that the Franco-Swiss artist and his team wanted to continue their social involvement.
“In a polarized world, in which a part of the population decides to close in on itself, we have an optimistic message, of wanting to live together, that we want to share with the world. My team and I are convinced that humanity will be able to respond to the different challenges that it will have to face.”
The goal is to create the longest human chain in the world