Paris (AFP)

They usually have the walls of big cities as their playground. Confinement requires, it is via social networks that street artists communicate and express their concerns, in the midst of a coronavirus epidemic.

"I made this mosaic of Doctor House four years ago on the wall of a Parisian hospital, but it has never been so relevant. Bravo to the caregivers who save lives", published one of the stars of the community , Invader, on Instagram.

Like him, many artists around the world see their past works take on a new dimension with current events.

"I did it eight years ago," told AFP the artist confined to California. It is a work "that deals with fear and isolation, from the outside that begins to threaten your immediate environment", concerns that seemed less "relevant" at the time.

- Fears of the moment -

Same feeling for Ender (ender.artiste), who populates the streets of eastern Paris with cherubs, gargoyles and children.

"The work I carried out last year is completely in line with what we are experiencing," says the stencil artist who painted a section of a prostrate woman on a wall. blindfolded, as if hostage of a situation which escapes him.

"It corresponds perfectly to this idea of ​​confinement since it is on a very small space. It is oppressed, completely in the current idea".

At his feet is a label marked "fragile", like the name of the Ender project, relating to vulnerability. A theme echoing the anxieties of the moment, between fear of the epidemic, fears for the future and difficulties in living confinement.

What regret not being on the street to display? Not really, says the artist, confident that he is a bit out of inspiration, even if he works on canvas at home.

"I need to walk to get ideas, to take transport, to have the body in motion to have the mind in motion and there it is a little more complicated," he says.

It is quite the opposite for Angel Crow (angelcrow95) who never stops drawing in connection with current events, even if he can no longer "exhibit".

"I have a lot of things to stick because since all this time (the beginning of confinement, note), I have created a lot of things," he says, showing characters behind bars and virus men among his latest achievements.

The artist took up the subject "when the virus began to gain ground in the world", via a character representing a doctor of the black plague ("Señor cuervo señora peste"), the last that he stuck in the Parisian streets, before they are deserted.

- Digital exhibition -

Result: it is on social networks that street art lovers give themselves to heart. "People share the photos they have taken in previous months, they react much more to photos ... which is great for showing our work differently," said Ender.

No question for him to challenge the confinement to stick on the walls .. and push the curious "to go look for them".

Especially since culture is currently experienced in digital mode, adds Eddie Colla. A trend that street art does not escape. He himself will be involved in digital exhibition projects. "It will be a first," he says.

Aware that they can play a role, street artists do not hesitate to get involved: this is the case with Invader. To those who would benefit from confinement to follow in the footsteps of its mosaics and list them via its FlashInvaders application, it has a surprise in store: a simple and effective message: "respect confinement!".

© 2020 AFP