Street Art BEN

High above the Fréhel Square, you will find an installation that appears frozen in a moment of perpetual labor. Two life-sized sculptures of construction workers are mounted on the wall, suspended mid-motion as if they are in the middle of installing a massive black slate. The slate itself is inscribed with a sharp, white-calligraphed warning that tells passersby to be wary of words. This work is a signature piece by the Franco-Swiss artist Ben Vautier, who spent decades challenging how we perceive language by turning simple, handwritten phrases into art. By catching these figures in an eternal, unfinished state, the piece forces you to stop and question the very medium you are reading.