Vandals In Paris

Vandals in Paris documents a two-year window when the city’s walls were dense with graffiti — faces, abstract shapes, slogans — turning Paris into an open-air gallery. Franco-American journalist Antoine Flandrin and German photographer Thomas Von Wittich set out to capture that moment, following around fifty urban artists through the streets over two years.

The result leans as much on words as images. It’s a book of interviews, in both French and English, illustrated throughout with black and white action photography — writers caught mid-work rather than posed. Across the fifty-odd artists it covers a wide spread of approaches, backgrounds and styles, so it reads as a document of a whole scene rather than a single aesthetic.

At 336 pages in a large 23 × 31cm hardcover with Smyth-sewn binding, it’s a heavy, substantial volume — around 2.2kg. Featured artists include Feito, Dérape, Lady.K, Dystur, Skame, Sun7, Retro, Seth, Mglo, La Fleuj, Nargue, Stesi, Lek, Katre, Ox, Madame, Slice, Druide, Dize, Funco, 3DT/CKT, Keag&Sore, Frez, K7, Kraken, Ecilop, Toile, Puls, Skeo, Staze, Ikarus, Oscoruru, Joz, Levalet, Vermibus, Nake, Pö, TS-HO, Douceur Xtreme, Jore, Amef and Rez1.

Specs:

• Photos: Thomas Von Wittich
• Interviews/text: Antoine Flandrin (French & English)
• Photography: black and white, action shots
• Pages: 336
• Format: 23 × 31 cm, hardcover
• Binding: Smyth sewn
• Weight: 2.2 kg
• Around 50 artists featured