{"id":23025,"date":"2020-05-23T12:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-05-23T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/?p=23025"},"modified":"2025-10-19T19:50:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T19:50:30","slug":"parisian-space-invaders-mosaic-street-art-worth-the-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/parisian-space-invaders-mosaic-street-art-worth-the-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Parisian Space Invaders: Mosaic Street Art Worth the Hunt"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-23036 size-full\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1612\" height=\"844\" src=\"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363.jpg\" alt=\"Mosaic Invaders\" class=\"wp-image-23036\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363.jpg 1612w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363-500x262.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363-160x84.jpg 160w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5476-scaled-e1590764417363-150x79.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1612px) 100vw, 1612px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Here is a Space invader in the 9th Arrondissement that I came across while on a walk.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>So, you\u2019ve walked along the streets of Paris and everything is as you\u2019ve imagined, except for the random space alien mosaics that appear on every street corner. You might find yourself with some questions. What are these symbolic characters? And who put them here, in one of the world&#8217;s most historic and beautiful cities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meet \u201c<strong>Invader<\/strong>,\u201d one of Paris&#8217; most prominent street artists, who is known for these tile mosaic renderings of space aliens and video game-like caricatures. The art pieces are based on the pixelated 8-bit video games of the 70s and 80s and don\u2019t only appear in Paris, but in over 65 other cities spanning 33 countries, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/category\/destination\/los-angeles\/\">Los Angeles<\/a> to Hong Kong. The artist uses a strict color palette consisting of only six colors, similar to those of a Rubik\u2019s Cube. With these \u201c<strong>Space Invaders<\/strong>,\u201d the artist is showing how \u2014 much like those video games from the 70s and 80s \u2014 each character can be produced with one pixel or, in this case, one artistic square. It&#8217;s just another example of intriguing street art in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Invader<\/strong> has published books and maps to guide viewers to his mosaics, one of which is an app using QR codes that rewards points for each \u201c<strong>Space Invader<\/strong>\u201d found around the city.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-23035 size-full\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1811\" height=\"921\" src=\"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369.jpg\" alt=\"space invader mosaic found in Paris\" class=\"wp-image-23035\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369.jpg 1811w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369-300x153.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369-1024x521.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369-768x391.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369-1536x781.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369-500x254.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369-160x81.jpg 160w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/IMG_5474-scaled-e1590764468369-150x76.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1811px) 100vw, 1811px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">You can see the little Space Invader hiding in the space above the number. These little art pieces are everywhere if you keep your eyes open!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>These little invasions around the city may seem random, but none of the mosaics were installed by chance. All have been approved by property owners and complement the aesthetic or other strategic criteria of that area and is designed and installed to draw in tourists and surprise pedestrians.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"513\" height=\"531\" src=\"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/rue-mouffetard-e1591782867852.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23713\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/rue-mouffetard-e1591782867852.jpg 513w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/rue-mouffetard-e1591782867852-290x300.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/rue-mouffetard-e1591782867852-500x518.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/rue-mouffetard-e1591782867852-160x166.jpg 160w, https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/rue-mouffetard-e1591782867852-150x155.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 513px) 100vw, 513px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>On your next trip to Paris, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for these creations and maybe even participate in a Space Invader scavenger hunt. Let us know what you find!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So, you\u2019ve walked along the streets of Paris and everything is as you\u2019ve imagined, except for the random space alien mosaics that appear on every street corner. You might find yourself with some questions. What are these symbolic characters? And who put them here, in one of the world&#8217;s most historic and beautiful cities? Meet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":23036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23025"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37994,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23025\/revisions\/37994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}