julien nonnon projects a safari of smartly-dressed wildlife on the streets of paris

julien nonnon projects a safari of smartly-dressed wildlife on the streets of paris
all images courtesy of julien nonnon

since the start of september, passersby paris’ picturesque buildings and boutiques have encountered a spell of ephemeral graffiti projected onto the architectural landscape. artist julien nonnon of le3 design studio has scattered an ‘urban safari’ around the french capital, illuminating images of smartly-dressed wildlife on the city’s structures and surfaces at night. the series of short-lived souvenirs include ‘hip’ animals donning unusual outfits, like a cheetah clothed in a bomber jacket and an eagle sporting a suit and tie. each of the figures are named after the streets they newly inhabit, including the flannel-wearing ‘lemur of montmartre’ and smoking ‘shepherd of clignancourt’.

‘the gorilla of cascades’

spanning the sides of four-and-five-storey buildings, the urban creatures are meant to ‘question our ambivalent desire to be both unique and wanting to belong to a well-defined group’, the artist says. ‘in our way of dressing, we express our vision of the world, while indirectly revealing our social position and financial power. fashion is nothing other than a means of communication, of integration and belonging to a group.’

‘the rooster of la mare’

‘the eagle of mont-cenis’

the lion of trois frères

‘the fox of montmartre’

‘the wolf of borey’

‘the hyena of eupatoria’

‘the lemur of montmartre’

‘the cheetah of montmartre’

‘the shepherd of clignancourt’

‘the crocodile of la cigale’

‘the dogs of doudeauville’

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