Invader (b. 1969) is a French street artist whose pixelated mosaic installations have become iconic symbols of contemporary urban art. Drawing inspiration from early video games, particularly the 1978 arcade classic Space Invaders, he began his artistic ‘invasion’ in 1998 by placing mosaic characters on buildings throughout Paris. Installed clandestinely and often without permission, these artworks transformed public spaces into playful and unexpected encounters with nostalgia, technology, and visual culture.
Blending street art with digital aesthetics, Invader's mosaics are made from small ceramic tiles arranged to resemble 8-bit characters from retro games such as Pac-Man and Super Mario. His distinctive style merges pop culture with public art, offering a new form of graffiti that is both accessible and immediately recognisable. These works not only celebrate the visual language of early computing but also challenge conventional ideas of where art belongs and who it is for.
As his reputation grew, Invader expanded his practice far beyond Paris, launching a global project to ‘invade’ cities around the world. From New York to Tokyo, London to São Paulo, his mosaics have appeared in over 80 cities, each site documented and mapped as part of an ongoing and meticulously catalogued project. His installations are often placed in hard-to-reach or surprising locations, adding an element of challenge and discovery to his work. In a groundbreaking move, he sent a mosaic into orbit, making his the first street art exhibited in space, on the International Space Station.
Invader's work exists at the intersection of art, technology, and popular culture. Though rooted in the subversive ethos of street art, his practice is also deeply conceptual, exploring themes of digital identity, urban space, and cultural memory. His anonymous persona and carefully controlled public image enhance the intrigue surrounding his work, while his instantly recognisable style ensures a strong and consistent visual identity.
Today, Invader is regarded as one of the most influential street artists of his generation. His celebrated work has been exhibited in galleries and museums, yet it retains the rebellious energy of its street origins. By pixelating the world one tile at a time, Invader has created a body of work that is playful, thought-provoking, and enduringly original.
