JUNE 17 (Reuters) — Street art featuring Arabic graffiti and cartoon figures of lovers in swimming costumes now adorn one of Paris’s most august bridges — and all with the permission of the city authorities.
After Paris officials wrenched the much-maligned “love locks” from the Pont des Arts amid safety concerns, four artists were invited to contribute to a temporary exhibition on the bridge, which links the Louvre museum and the collegiate left bank of the the River Seine.
The bridge had become the site of a controversial Paris tradition: couples attaching padlocks inscribed with their names to the railings, and throwing the key in the river, to symbolize their eternal love.
The romantic theme helped inspire many of the artists who replaced the panels of padlocks, including French artist Brusk whose works feature multicolored melting padlocks dripping down the sides of the iconic bridge.
“I took up the story of the padlocks because it seemed sensible to play around with the story of this bridge, of what it represents symbolically. And so I had them dripping away because they’re going to disappear. And having them dripping away means we see them disappear. And I wrote a message: ‘Love is the key’, to tell people that just because there aren’t any padlocks anymore doesn’t mean that there’s no more love,” he told Reuters Television.
The artists were chosen by Franco-Tunisian Mehdi Ben Cheikh who runs a gallery “Itinerrance” in Paris and has previously worked on projects including the Tour Paris 13 — a street art-decorated tower block later demolished.
Brusk says the work has been a hit with Parisians who saw the padlocks as an eyesore and it had some fans on the bridge, including U.S. tourist Max Dulberger who appreciated the clash of cultures with the surrounding architecture.
“It’s a cool combination to bring together difference types of art, with the classical stuff and more modern nitty gritty stuff, so that’s kind of a cool combination,” he said.
Others like New Zealand tourist Jamie McMahon dismissed the work as “horrible drawings”.
But nothing will stop determined romantics — newly-engaged Megan and Luke from Britain kept the old tradition alive, attaching padlocks to the railings on the banks.
The works by the four artists Jace, El Seed, Pantonio and Brusk, will be on display until the autumn before glass panels replace the padlocks for good in October, the city said.
