Perched above a storefront window, French street artist In The Woup carefully places mosaic tiles to create a pixelated character resembling Mario, the famous mustachioed plumber who has inspired over 200 of his artworks scattered across streets worldwide. The self-taught mosaic artist, who refuses to be known by anything other than his pseudonym, grew up with the red-capped character whose video game "Super Mario Bros." is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
For the past 15 years, In The Woup has been reimagining the pixelated universe of this "icon" that is "recognizable everywhere," spreading his creations throughout French cities and internationally to Mexico, India, and Kazakhstan. The artist maintains his anonymity by wearing a mask featuring the Italian plumber's likeness whenever he appears in public.
"What if Mario had other costumes? What could he look like?" asks In The Woup, his face hidden behind the character mask. The father has already created pixelated versions of 500 characters "from manga, comic books, video games, cinema, and current events." His diverse portfolio includes interpretations of the Mona Lisa, the pirate Redbeard from the Asterix comic series, rapper Orelsan, and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
He has subtly placed half of these creations into urban landscapes, reminding passersby of the nostalgia associated with Mario's early video games. For this artist, born five years after the character's first screen appearance in 1981 when he was called "Jumpman," Mario serves as his "Proust's madeleine" - a powerful trigger for childhood memories. "Finding elements of my game console on the street was a way to bring immaterial things into reality," explains the artist who used to fight with his brother over the game controller as a child.
In total, 224 of his artworks adorn hidden corners in 56 cities across 12 countries, he proudly details. "Everywhere I travel, I always bring mosaic materials with me," explains the thirty-something artist, who maintains a primary job that he preferred not to specify alongside his art practice. When this Lyon resident isn't packing colored tiles in his suitcase for international installations, he sells his works for "several thousand euros."
The artist also collaborates with municipal governments and recently exhibited his work at the Urban Art Fair, the first international fair dedicated to urban art. His artistic recipe combines 16-bit technology, used starting with "Super Mario World" in the 1990s and therefore highly pixelated, with "Franco-Belgian comics, American comics, manga, and video games," the artist enumerates.
"Both universes must be perfectly blended in my eyes," In The Woup explains from his cramped home studio, a small room filled with stacks of Briare enamels, the primary mosaic material he uses. After imagining his design using a stylus on his tablet, he transposes the image by meticulously aligning colored tiles, transforming from "pixel artist" to "mosaicist."
This time, he's honoring DJ Bob Sinclair, whom he "really likes," or rather the DJ's character complete with beard, headphones, and hands on turntables. After applying glue to the back of the artwork on a Lyon street and carefully positioning it at the top of a ladder, the figure now adorns the black storefront of UML Records music label.
The location is always carefully chosen, though sometimes without prior permission from property owners, since In The Woup "isn't the type to prepare too many things in advance." "Generally, they say yes," he notes, because "people really like street art and mosaics," which transform streets into "open-air galleries." His work charms all generations, and "lots of different people write to me," he observes. "Everyone has played Mario, whether you're broke or loaded - that's what's so cool about it."
