All posts tagged: Beyond Walls Project

Saype – Beyond Walls in Okinawa, Nagasaki, Fuji, and Tokyo, Japan

Saype – Beyond Walls in Okinawa, Nagasaki, Fuji, and Tokyo, Japan

French-Swiss artist Saype is continuing on his ambitious worldwide project, “Beyond Walls,” bringing it to Japan with an awe-inspiring display across multiple cities. From April 22nd to May 14th, 2023, four monumental landart paintings were painted by the artist in Okinawa, Nagasaki, Fuji, and Tokyo, forming the 17th step of this visionary endeavor.

Saype’s artworks, crafted with natural pigments derived from charcoal and chalk, are part of what he intends to be the largest human chain ever created. As the final witnesses of the 20th-century tragedies fade away, Saype endeavors here to become a spokesperson through the invitation of the United Voices movement, which aims to transmit a profound message of peace and solidarity to future generations. By symbolically painting intertwined hands traversing various locations, Saype would like to challenge the divisions of our world, urging us to embrace kindness, togetherness, and collective efforts beyond walls.


Saype. Beyond Walls – Nagasaki, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)

BEYOND WALLS NAGASAKI
Ending the war, but at what cost? Nagasaki is both the epicenter of human madness and the incredible hope of the survivors of inhumanity. This mural, a transmission symbol, reminds us that memory is the best ally of peace.

Saype. Beyond Walls – Nagasaki, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Nagasaki, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)

BEYOND WALLS OKINAWA
It is at the Okinawa Peace Memorial that Saype created his first Beyond Walls mural in Japan. A fragile and ephemeral work, just a few steps away from the graves of soldiers of all nationalities who fought on the only battlefield on Japanese territory. Although decades have passed since this battle, the archipelago remains of crucial strategic importance.

Saype. Beyond Walls – Okinawa, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Okinawa, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Okinawa, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Okinawa, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)

BEYOND WALLS FUJI
It is undoubtedly the most iconic place in Japan. By marking this symbol of eternity with his ephemeral work, which sees humanity passing by its foot, Saype puts our place on Earth and our priorities into perspective.

Saype. Beyond Walls – Fuji, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Fuji, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Fuji, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Fuji, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Fuji, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)

BEYOND WALLS TOKYO
It was unthinkable for Saype’s human chain not to pass through Tokyo. Here, tradition meets modernity in a cultural and human effervescence like no other. A megalopolis as serene as it is immense, Tokyo is writing history before our eyes, in the shadow of its past.

Saype. Beyond Walls – Tokyo, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Tokyo, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls – Tokyo, Japan. Japan Tour. (photo © Saype)
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Saype Stays True to Biodegradable Art at Venice Biennale

Saype Stays True to Biodegradable Art at Venice Biennale


Because the photos from each installation are always so good, here is the latest installment by French-Swiss artist Saype, who is featuring his giant biodegradable landart painting on a floating barge in Venice.

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Biennale Art 2022. Venice, Italy. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

The piece, part of his “Beyond Walls” global human chain, will travel in and around Venice during the Biennale Arte 2022 59th International Art Exhibition. It’s good to see that the artist is still staying true to his commitment to keeping his artworks and his materials biodegradable, unlike so many commercial products sold in stores today by multinationals that end up polluting our air, water, and soil. So many companies try to use others to “artwash” their images these days, so we know a number of artists who are acutely aware of this possibility and actively avoid it.

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Biennale Art 2022. Venice, Italy. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Biennale Art 2022. Venice, Italy. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Biennale Art 2022. Venice, Italy. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Biennale Art 2022. Venice, Italy. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Biennale Art 2022. Venice, Italy. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Biennale Art 2022. Venice, Italy. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
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SAYPE Hits DUBAI With His “Beyond Walls” Project

SAYPE Hits DUBAI With His “Beyond Walls” Project

Checking in today with Saype and the “Beyond Walls” project he has been taking around the world in iconic and high-profile style for a few years now.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” Project. Dubai UAE. October 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

Now in Dubai for the Expo 2020 World Exhibition, the artist is supported by his home country of Switzerland to create this 1500 square meter image of unity. This installation, his 11th of the series, was completed on October 28th, and of course was created with biodegradable paint using charcoal, chalk, water, and milk proteins.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” Project. Dubai UAE. October 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” Project. Dubai UAE. October 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” Project. Dubai UAE. October 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” Project. Dubai UAE. October 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” Project. Dubai UAE. October 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” Project. Dubai UAE. October 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” Project. Dubai UAE. October 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
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Saype in Cape Town, South Africa with “Beyond Walls”

Saype in Cape Town, South Africa with “Beyond Walls”

Three frescoes in Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa are the latest installments of hands and arms joined with one another for the French large-scale land artist Saype.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the artist at work on the land-art fresco at the Philippi township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

The pieces are created in Sea Point (6000 m²), the Philippi township (800 m²) and the Langa township (800 m²) and together represent the 9th stop on his worldwide “Beyond Walls” project.

Given the crises that the world is experiencing with the Covid-19 pandemic and the historic divisions in South Africa, Saype says he chose to present a fraternal vision in these three neighborhoods of Cape Town.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. The artist at work on the land-art fresco at the Philippi township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

Project organizers say “The current crisis reinforces Saype’s optimistic will to present these universal frescos of benevolence and togetherness,” even though he knows that it may represent, “a modest contribution to reunite a city whose historic scars have not yet healed.” Recognizing that the society is still striving to recover from the dark time of apartheid, here is an artist who is using his talents to help heal wounds.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at the Philippi township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

Just finished on January 21, organizers say that the three frescoes were created using approximately 1000 liters of biodegradable pigments made out of charcoal, chalk, water and milk proteins.

This project is carried out in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland in South Africa, the International Public Art Festival, Baz-Art and the City of Cape Town.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. The artist at work on the land-art fresco at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. The artist at work on the land-art fresco at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the artist at work on the land-art fresco at the Langa township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at the Langa township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at the Langa township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
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Saype Brings Symbol of Joined Hands to East/West Precipice in Istanbul

Saype Brings Symbol of Joined Hands to East/West Precipice in Istanbul

The French-Swiss land artist Saype is starting his 30s with a grand idea of hands joined across the earth.

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

“I think that we are in a moment of humanity when the world is becoming polarized and part of the population is choosing to withdraw into itself,” he says. So symbolically he is spraying massive patches of grass with images of hands joined in cities across the world – including Paris, Andorre, Geneva, Berlin, Ouagadougou, Yamoussoukro, and Turin.

Today we take you to his latest installation of three clasped hands in Istanbul, particularly symbolic because it is at the precipice of so-called East and West. He says that since he would like his monumental works to be bridges painted between cultures, the city of Istanbul constitutes an essential stage, at the crossroads of the worlds between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.  

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

“Istanbul is really on two continents between Europe and Asia,” he says, “and it’s amazing because we’re going to be able to connect the two here. We made three frescoes; a fresco on the European side, a floating barge covered with grass that will cross the Bosphorus, and a fresco on the Asian continent in Beykoz.”

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

The three frescoes were created using biodegradable pigments and included one artwork at Bogazici University (2500 m2) on the European side of the country, a second one was created in the Beykoz district (1600 m2) on the Asian side and the two of them were linked by an artwork painted on a floating barge in the Golden Horn of the Bosphorus (2200 m2). Valentin Flauraud stood in for Saype at the barge.

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

The work carried out in Istanbul was benefitted by support from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Kültür A.Ş, the Municipality of Beşiktaş, the Boğaziçi University, the Consulate General of Switzerland, the French Institute in Turkey and UPS.

“I am convinced that it is only together that humanity will be able to respond to the biggest challenges it will have to overcome them.”

Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Golden Horn of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Bogazici University. Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Beykoz district. Istanbul, Turkey. October 2020 (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
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