Lek & Sowat
Lek is a first generation Parisian graffiti artist who uses the traditional canons of New York graffiti and mixes them with Bauhaus influences, abstractions, and Futurism. While Franco-American, Sowat draws inspiration from Chaz Bojorquez, one of the major figures in Californian graffiti who developed Cholo writing, a style of calligraphy created in the 1940s to mark out the territories of Latino gangs.
Both started working as a duo in 2010. They share a common interest for the Urbex – or Urban Exploration – a discipline which consists in exploring the city, in search for modern ruins. Expanding the boundaries of traditional Graffiti, their experiments in situ gather videos, architectural abstractions, installations and archeology, creating a modern form of urban land art. Their work has been featured in galleries and museums across the world such as Centre Pompidou, Palais De Tokyo, amongst others.
Bonjour India
Chandigarh, 2018
The project is conceived as a collaboration between Indian artist Hanif Kureshi and French artists duo Lek and Sowat to create the first large scale urban art intervention in the city of Chandigarh’s iconic Sector 17 . The work would revolve around how the artists use their practice to speak to the city while also revisiting the architecture of the bus stand through an intervention with the medium of plastic.
Lodhi Art District
New Delhi, 2016
