His posters of kidnapped French journalist Florence Aubenas helped raised public awareness of her situation, pressuring politicians and journalists to work harder for her release. In recent years Blek’s work has become more political, focusing on the homeless, the environment, and other social causes. His work served as one of the inspirations for artists like Banksy and Space Invader. In 1985, he was on the first meeting of the graffiti and urban art movement in France, with Speedy Graphito, Kim Prisu, Miss Tic, SP 38, Epsylon Point, Jef Aérosol, Futura 2000, Nuklé-Art and Banlieue-Banlieue.
Initially influenced by the early graffiti-art of New York City after a visit in 1971, he chose a style which he felt better suited Paris, due to the differing architecture of the two cities. His name originates from the comic book Blek le Roc, using “rat” as an anagram for “art”. He described the rat as “the only free animal in the city” and one which “spreads the plague everywhere, just like street art”. He was born on 15 November 1952 in Boulogne-Billancourt in the western suburbs of Paris.īlek began his artwork in 1981, painting hundreds of rats on the walls of Paris. About: Pioneering French graffiti, Blek Le Rat was one of the first true street artists, often described as the “Father of stencil graffiti”.
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