In Sète, a stone's throw from Rue de Tunis, a new graffiti is growing on the walls

Le graffeur Nô doit terminer de peindre la partie rez-de-chaussée avant d’attaquer la façade du premier étage Midi Libre – GUILLAUME CROS

The graffiti artist Nô has started his mural work, composed of portraits and sunflowers. This regular visitor wants to present, between now and Friday August 2, a painting that will make passers-by smile.

"I met some tenants, they were quite happy." Nô enjoys the approval of local residents even before he has finished his work. This is yet another fresco that he has created in Sète. This time, the graffiti artist has chosen the façade of 13, rue Fondère. It shows the face of a young teenage girl, with dark eyes and a tanned complexion, surrounded by two sunflowers. The artist plans to finish by Friday evening.

“Something aesthetic”

“I paint characters whose origin is difficult to say. We can think that she is Tahitian, Asian, whatever you want", answers Nô. Initially, it was supposed to be a child, but the painted nails near the face forced the graffiti artist to "age her a little". "Sometimes a little nothing on a face changes a lot of things", he says.

On the ground floor, the hand, the petals and the heart of one of the sunflowers remain to be painted. As for the first floor, it has not been started. “There was a problem with the scaffolding, explains Noh. It was too light, too wobbly.” The artist has fallen back on a scissor lift, which he will receive this Friday, August 2. He plans to paint a child's face with other sunflowers on the facade of the first floor. Nô claims that there is nothing symbolic in the graffiti: “It's just something aesthetic,”. The final goal is to witness a mix between the work and the natural vegetation present on the façade (leafy branches). “I also want the graffiti to be consensual and to make passers-by smile”, he adds.

Between smiles and activism

The graffiti artist, who has already been to Paris and Marseille, wants to convey “a bit of joy in the neighborhood”. He says he appreciates the energy of Sète, especially on Rue de Tunis: “There's stuff everywhere. People are cool. You can paint anywhere, there's space!” The street artist is the author of four graffitis on the very colorful Rue de Tunis. In particular, the portraits of a young girl looking up at the sky and of an old lady with pronounced wrinkles and a neck adorned with necklaces.

Young girl raising her eyes to the sky Midi Libre – GUILLAUME CROS

But Nô also expresses his militant side in painting. Two other of his graffiti depict women, one with a raised fist and the inscription  "Any body, any choice" painted on her stomach, the other with a Palestinian keffiyeh denouncing the actions of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

A woman with her fist raised and “Any body, any choice” painted on her belly Midi Libre – GUILLAUME CROS

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