In the streets of Paris, artist Dawal finds inspiration in places where most people don't even look: on paint chips, cracks, and imperfections scattered across city walls. Rather than viewing these as simple signs of wear and tear, he transforms them into miniature canvases that serve as starting points for dreamlike and colorful universes filled with strange characters, hidden symbols, and unexpected poetry.
These tiny murals, infused with humor and surrealism, invite passersby to change their perspective on the city around them. Where others see damaged walls, Dawal envisions windows opening into other worlds. His unique approach to street art has turned urban decay into opportunities for creative expression that challenges viewers to see beauty in the overlooked details of city life.
Since his early days in the abandoned industrial areas of Lille and nights spent painting in Athens, Dawal has developed a highly personal artistic style characterized by free figuration rich in detail and recurring themes such as technology, time, and childhood. His works often carry touches of irony and humor, serving as a way to question society and its contradictions while maintaining visual lightness and accessibility.
As a self-taught artist, Dawal began his journey in street art, influenced by hip-hop culture and the joy of painting with friends. However, his artistic evolution quickly moved beyond traditional lettering as his characters began to take center stage, and his compositions became loaded with symbolic depth. His urban murals and acrylic paintings explore a surrealist imagination nourished by his readings of science fiction as well as the artistic universes of René Magritte and Salvador Dalí.
Now based in Paris, Dawal divides his time between working on walls throughout the city and creating in his studio at Shakirail. His exhibitions, including "Enfantillages" at the Artistik Rezo gallery, allow him to expand his artistic universe through paintings, drawings, and even sculptures. A notable series of toy soldiers created in collaboration with artist Fayalu demonstrates his constant desire to vary his mediums and bring his characters to life in new forms.
What connects all of Dawal's creations, whether miniature or monumental in scale, is his quest for mental escapism. The artist seeks to transport viewers into parallel narratives, offering them suspended moments between dream and reality. This sincere approach, nourished by both spontaneity and rigor, transforms his works into windows opening onto worlds that are simultaneously strange, tender, and profoundly human.
Dawal's innovative technique of using existing paint chips and wall imperfections as foundations for his art represents a unique form of urban intervention that requires no additional damage to property while adding layers of meaning to the cityscape. His work demonstrates how street art can evolve beyond traditional graffiti to become a form of storytelling that engages directly with the urban environment's existing textures and history.
