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He walks the streets of Europe, looking for potholes and cracked walls. It's little wonder then that artist Ememem has been dubbed the pavement surgeon – he's taken it upon himself to artistically patch the gouged wounds of pavements and walls using glass and ceramic mosaics.
The self-proclaimed “pothole knight” refers to his artwork as “a free and spontaneous surgical act, which repairs as much as it beautifies”
The artist, who is based in Lyon, France, has restored over 350 potholes in his hometown and over 400 across Norway, Scotland, Germany and Spain over the past six years.
His speciality is using colourful ceramic mosaics made of tiles of various sizes, structured in eye-catching geometric shapes to fill cracks and potholes. Some of them have his signature painted on them.
“I'd done similar things, with other techniques, other supports, and finally, when this one emerged, I knew I found something that I was going to keep doing for the rest of my life,” he says.
His work has caught the eye of many people in Europe, including Lisa Mambré, the deputy mayor of 9th arrondissement, Lyon. She describes him as the “star of local street art".
“His work is so noticeable, everyone you ask seems to know about it,” she says.
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Even though he's becoming well known in Europe, not much else is known about him because he refuses to be photographed and declines in-person interviews.
His agent of 15 years, Guillaume Abou, describes him as someone with a great need to give and to share.
“He’s quite laid-back but has had a bit of a turbulent life,” he adds.
Jeff Carpentier, who supplies him with tiles from Planètes Carrelages in Amiens, agrees.
"Ememem is discreet, but also very communicative and passionate about what he does," he says.
Despite the buzz around him, he prefers to stay out of the public eye.
“It’s important for me to remain a little mysterious,” he says on his website. “And it’s because I’m not very talented when it comes to social interactions.”
He also chooses to fly under the radar because as arresting as his work is, it's also illegal.
The street artist works mostly at night and has gained recognition at the highly esteemed Galerie Italienne in Paris, where some of his work is displayed.
“He has a very strong gift for putting different colours together,” says Alessandro Pron, the director of the gallery.
SOURCES: THEGUARDIAN.COM, FORBES.COM, EMEMEM.ART, THISISCOLLOSSAL.COM, MYBEAUTIFULTHONG.COM
