Invader, street artist of international renown, has placed his famous mosaics in the streets of cities in more than 30 countries around the world. Born in 1969, he uses the name of artist Invader inspired by the arcade game Space Invaders of 1978.
Today among the many invasions he has accomplished over the years, we will tell you about the Invasion in Los Angeles 🌴
Invasion Los Angeles
It was the end of December 1999 when Invader decided to leave for Los Angeles with only one mission: to carry out his ninth invasion, the first outside the European continent!
Waiting for him in Los Angeles was his cousin, Mr Brainwash who will accompany him in the installation of some Space Invaders in L.A. and above all he will be so fascinated by the world of Street Art to follow the exploits of famous street artists such as Shepard Fairey (Obey) and become one of the protagonists of the documentary directed by Banksy Exit Through the Gift Shop.
In the suitcase Invader carries more than 40 mosaics ready to be installed and on 26 December 1999 LA_001 appears on the side wall of the historic Pink’s Hot Dogs street club.
Before the advent of the new year, the French street artist had already placed several mosaics in every corner of the city, including one at the foot of the letter “D” of the famous “Hollywood” sign. Only in 2004 will he complete his Hollywood Mission by invading each letter of the sign and completing a five-year project.
A tireless street artist, Invader has been back to Los Angeles again and again; to date you can count 11 waves and 214 mosaics. In Los Angeles, anyone who hunts for his mosaics can score a whopping 5810 points on the FlashInvaders app!
Among the numerous “aliens” who invade the city, the artist indulged himself, letting himself be inspired by the world of Hollywood stars and large avenues (the avenues) with more complex works.
Among the most recent we find an interpretation of “The Dude”, the anti-hero protagonist of the 1998 Hollywood cult classic by the Coen brothers: “The Big Lebowski”. The artwork is conveniently located outside the Shatto 39 Lanes bowling alley on West 4th Street near Koreatown (bowling is a central theme of the film).
Little curiosity: in Los Angeles there is LA_064, one of the largest pieces ever made by the artist Invader, did you know that? 😉
Invader: mosaics symbol of our time
Invader’s mosaics are according to him “the perfect icons of our time, a time in which digital technologies are the heartbeat of our world”.
The artist describes his worldwide project as “urban acupuncture”. These “invasions” started in Paris in 1998 and quickly spread to other cities before France, then the rest of the world… up to space!
The artist’s invasions are collected in invasion maps and guides, at the Wunderkammern gallery you can discover a selection of Invader catalogs of some cities “attacked” by the artist, including that of the invasion of Los Angeles!
If you are curious to see Invader’s works, we are waiting for you in our headquarters in Milan, via Nerino 2 or on our e-commerce😊
See you soon!