Over The Influence Gallery has opened 4000, Invader’s first official solo show in a Parisian gallery since 2011 and Invader 4000- The Complete Guide to the Space Invaders,1998 – 2021 has been released.
This exhibition follows 11 years of the French artist exhibiting his work in museums and international galleries. 4000 brings together 40 Aliases created in reference to 40 space invaders installed worldwide. The artist has selected each one based on the importance of its role in the “global invasion” he began two decades ago. Each alias is the unique identical replica of an in situ mosaic, allowing you to become its virtual owner. This is a milestone exhibition in two ways: it features the Alias of the 4,000th space invader, and it revolves around the publication of the catalog raisonné of his extensive work.
More than just a simple artistic practice, my Space Invaders project has been a huge part of my life for over twenty years; some might even call it a lifestyle. Each invasion of a city has been a completely immersive experience… a geographical and cultural change of scenery, a unique journey through a terra incognita yet to be conquered.
INVADER
Over The Influence presents INVADER, 4000 – 22nd January 2 Rue Des Saussaies Paris 75008 Open: Tuesday– Saturday, 11am – 7pm : Book a time
About the artist
Invader is one of the most enigmatic and radical artists of our time. He has been “invading” cities around the world since 1998 by skilfully placing his mosaic pieces in the most incongruous of places. By drawing attention to the increasing role of technology in our daily lives, Invader encourages the public to reflect on the implications of this digital invasion. Invader’s creative dexterity knows no boundaries, with the artist having sent his work into outer space as well as having anchored it to the bottom of Cancun Bay. Whether he’s embellishing the Hollywood sign, invading the Louvre, designing the most innovative pair of trainers or using the Rubik’s Cube as an artistic medium, Invader has left an undeniable mark both on the world’s landscapes and on contemporary art.
Invader’s work has been exhibited at the MGLC, Ljubljana, Slovenia; HOCA Foundation, Hong Kong; MOCA, Los Angeles, United States; MCASD, San Diego, United States; Musée Ingres and Musée du Louvre, Montauban, France; Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom; Daejeon Museum of Arts, Daejeon, South Korea.
Invader 4000- The Complete Guide to the Space Invaders,1998 – 2021
My books are an integral part of my art. They are entirely created in my studio and I dedicate as much care and attention to them as I do to the rest of my work. This new book is definitely the most ambitious one I have made so far. It celebrates 20 years of work in 1,024 pages and is a compilation of the first 4,000 mosaics I installed around the world. This guide takes its readers on an aesthetic and spatiotemporal journey through my Space Invaders project.
INVADER
Invader 4000 is a milestone in Invader’s work, a comprehensive catalogue that comprises and documents all the artist’s artwork up to his 4,000th creation. It tells the story of his Space Invaders project and the 170 cities invaded, from the first sentry he put up in the suburbs of Paris in 1996 to his 4,000th installation in Bolivia, in 2021, at exactly 4,000 metres above sea level.
Halfway between an encyclopaedia and a collector’s guide, the book’s 1,024 pages enable us to comprehend the scope of Invader’s artistic interventions, from his choice of locations to the large variety of sizes, motifs and topics used for his mosaics.
4000 is an art object designed with great care and attention, as were the previous invasion guides. It is both an invitation to experience the artist’s secret invasions and a testimony to the exhaustive, meticulous documentation collected for each mosaic that is geolocated, photographed and inventoried by Invader. This methodological endeavour enables him to visualise all his works as a network and to compile a comprehensive, constantly evolving oeuvre.
The book’s pocket size brings to mind a travel guide or philatelic album and its appendix provides additional information with a statistical analysis of the extensive data gathered during Invader’s extraordinary project.
4000, Invader, Softcover (hardback for the limited edition) Pages 1,024 p. Size 11,5 x 18 cm Languages English / French, Retail price €40.00 Publisher Control P Editions ISBN 978-2-9541259-7-8. Available in bookshops from the 10th of December and space-invaders.com/spaceshop from January 2023. Featuring a foreword by Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu, doctor of biological oceanography & an epilogue by Invader.
