Oakoak’s Street Art Interventions Are Playful And Smart Narratives

moray mair | Art and design | January 8, 2013

Oakoak‘s street art interventions are simple, playful and smart, exactly what you want to see when you’re ambling around the city in need of a smile, a laugh. Based in the French city of St. Etienne Oakoak has spent a number of years  - after finishing his day job as a pen pusher – transforming the urban landscape into a narrative playground using stencils, paint and the odd adhesive superhero or cartoon such as Spiderman, Angry Birds and Calvin and Hobbes – my type of guy.

Here’s what he has to say about what he gets up to under the cover of darkness after his day job is finished:

I like this city, her atmosphere and I wanted it to look nicer. It was an industrial city with many coal mines; now it’s in regeneration and still quite poor. But it’s easily travelled by foot with awkward aspects ideal for art. I saw shapes everywhere, and wanted to realise them.

Only in France – it seems awash with artists who want to make their cities a better, brighter, more human space. They should come over to Ireland and teach us a thing or two.