Mausolée de Lek & Sowat

The Mausolee is a massive, four-story former supermarket that once served as a hidden sanctuary for urban art. Starting in August 2010, the artist duo Lek and Sowat discovered the abandoned building near the Porte de la Villette and spent an entire year turning its neglected halls into a sprawling, clandestine exhibition space. They treated the derelict site like an archaeological dig, cataloging the debris left behind by previous occupants while layering their own murals across the floors, pillars, and ceilings. By inviting dozens of other graffiti artists to join them in secret, they transformed a forgotten commercial ruin into a living manifesto for French underground culture.