Carlos Mare, BboyHeadSpinna, ©Nico Giquel
Carlos Mare: a monumental sculpture for Saint-Denis
Guest in Paris in 2024 by la Fondation Desperados pour l’art urbain Carlos Mare, emblematic figure of the New York graffiti, imagines BBoy HeadSpinna, a monumental sculpture in homage to the breakdance.
First exhibited temporarily on the banks of the Seine, the sculpture joins definitely the parvis of Saint-Denis Pleyel stationin the heart of Greater Paris, celebrates the deep links between the origins of breakdance, born in the streets of New York, and its roots in France, especially in Seine-Saint-Denis, the cradle of this urban culture in Hexagon.
BBoy HeadSpinna is to date the greatest sculpture ever made by the artist. EInspired by rotating body dynamics, it seems to defy gravity. Head down, limbs stretched in a fluid twist, BBoy HeadSpinna captures this suspended moment when the movement becomes pure balance. Its angular and tense form is part of a plastic research that Mare has been conducting since the 2000s with its series B-Boy Abstracts, where it mixes cubic influences, constructivists and memory of graffiti.
Available to the community, the work marks a desire of Plaine Commune to include urban art and hip-hop culture in the public space in a sustainable way, in line with the cultural practices of the territory.
The 5 April 2024, the day of the inauguration of the sculpture, the courtyard of the station becomes an open-air scene: DJ sets, dance demonstrations, graffiti, rap and battles This day is open to all.
On the eve of the inauguration, the projection of a unpublished documentary produced by La Fondation, tracing the course of Carlos Mare — New York graffiti to sculptures inspired by breakdance. The session will conclude with an exchange with the artist.
This project is part of a broader dynamic, driven by La Fondation : welcome singular artistsdialogue between cultures and territories, and support contemporary creation in urban space.
BBoy HeadSpinna is to date the greatest sculpture ever made by the artist. EInspired by rotating body dynamics, it seems to defy gravity. Head down, limbs stretched in a fluid twist, BBoy HeadSpinna captures this suspended moment when the movement becomes pure balance. Its angular and tense form is part of a plastic research that Mare has been conducting since the 2000s with its series B-Boy Abstracts, where it mixes cubic influences, constructivists and memory of graffiti.
Available to the community, the work marks a desire of Plaine Commune to include urban art and hip-hop culture in the public space in a sustainable way, in line with the cultural practices of the territory.
The 5 April 2024, the day of the inauguration of the sculpture, the courtyard of the station becomes an open-air scene: DJ sets, dance demonstrations, graffiti, rap and battles This day is open to all.
On the eve of the inauguration, the projection of a unpublished documentary produced by La Fondation, tracing the course of Carlos Mare — New York graffiti to sculptures inspired by breakdance. The session will conclude with an exchange with the artist.
This project is part of a broader dynamic, driven by La Fondation : welcome singular artistsdialogue between cultures and territories, and support contemporary creation in urban space.
Artiste(s)
Carlos MarePartner(s)
Common Plain
Cover photo credit: Carlos Mare, BboyHeadSpinna, ©Nico Giquel
