New Invader invasion in Amiens, France

In recent days, the residents of Amiens were surprised to discover around fifteen small colorful mosaics discreetly installed on the city’s walls. These are the works of Invader, a world-renowned French street artist known for his creations inspired by the pixelated universe of 1980s video games. True to his style, he has scattered figures made of ceramic tiles throughout the streets of Amiens, often depicting the famous aliens from the game Space Invaders, as well as a few more local or unexpected references. These installations, always carried out clandestinely, turn the city into an artistic playground and add to a global body of work that now includes over 4,000 mosaics across nearly 80 cities worldwide.

"Invasion of Amiens by Street Artist Invader"

A Retro Aesthetic in a Historic Setting

In Amiens, the contrast between the city’s historic architecture—most notably the majestic Notre-Dame Cathedral—and the digital aesthetic of Invader’s work does not go unnoticed. The choice of this city, which had previously been absent from the artist’s global project, reflects a desire to further expand the scope of his artistic invasion by targeting both iconic and unexpected locations. Some mosaics have been placed near the Saint-Leu district, others not far from the train station or the Jules Verne House, adding an extra layer of narrative to the installations. These works are not merely pieces of art—they create a dialogue between past and present, monumental heritage and pop culture, academic art and contemporary urban expression. Far from being intrusive, they act as subtle nods to local history, seamlessly integrated into their surroundings.

An Open-Air Digital Treasure Hunt

Invader’s goal is not purely aesthetic: he also offers a playful, participatory experience. Using the FlashInvaders app, available on smartphones, passersby can scan the artworks they encounter in public spaces and earn points through an interface inspired by classic video game design. This urban treasure hunt sparks the curiosity of both residents and tourists, who roam the city in search of mosaics—some in plain sight, others cleverly hidden in more secret corners. In Amiens, social media quickly lit up: the first “flashes” were shared just hours after the mosaics were installed, and some enthusiasts even organized group outings to find them. The city becomes an interactive canvas, where every street corner holds the potential for discovery.

Pose de l’une des œuvres majeures d’Orléans. Vidéo compte Instagram @Invaderwashere

An artistic act outside official channels Invader operates outside of institutions. He requires no authorization, installing his works anonymously, often at night, with almost military precision. Each mosaic is designed in advance in his Parisian studio, numbered, documented, then installed in a few minutes using ultra-strong glue. The artist advocates a free, ephemeral, and often threatened art. Indeed, some of his works are torn down or stolen, depriving their location of meaning and stripping the work of its contextual value. He regularly warns against attempts at commercial reclamation: a work removed from its wall loses its function, its poetry, and its authenticity. For Invader, the city is at once a medium, a setting, and a partner: any attempt at removal kills the work. Victims of their own success, there are a huge number of fake Invader works sold in online galleries, and especially at auctions. This is especially true for the invasion kits, mosaics published in an average of 200 copies, and intended to be stuck up in their homes by all his fans. Invader created around twenty of them between 2000 and 2018. For more information on the invasion kits, visit www.invader-kits.com.

Kits d’invasion. Retrouvez ici les œuvres d’Invader proposées chez Class Art Biarritz

Biography of a Masked Artist

Behind the pseudonym Invader lies a French artist born in 1969 and a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His exact identity remains secret, but his work is now exhibited in the greatest contemporary art museums. He began his Space Invaders project in 1998 in Paris, with the idea of ​​infiltrating cities around the world with his mosaics inspired by early arcade video games. His work is a crossroads of street art, pixel art, and performance art. Far from being limited to Paris, Invader has invaded major cities such as Tokyo, New York, London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Rome, and Dakar. The artist also develops gallery exhibitions, limited editions, sculptures, and videos, but his invasion project remains at the heart of his approach. Through it, he questions the place of art in the city, the possibility of a poetic look at everyday life, and the way in which a work can blend into the urban fabric while revealing it.

A Universal Visual Language and Local References

The pixel, a universal visual language inherited from digital culture, has become his visual alphabet. Through his mosaics, Invader plays on childhood and nostalgia, but also on the geopolitics of cities: he works in capitals as well as medium-sized towns, tourist areas as well as working-class neighborhoods. Each work is unique, designed for its intended location, sometimes in connection with local culture, sometimes simply to surprise. In Amiens, some saw references to science fiction novels—an indirect nod to Jules Verne, the city's emblematic figure—or to science and space exploration. Other mosaics appear more abstract or decorative, simply playing with colors and shapes. This diversity reinforces curiosity and the element of surprise.

Before Amiens: Orléans and the Basque Country in the Crosshairs This invasion of Amiens is part of a broader dynamic. In March 2025, Invader had already struck in Orléans, where he scattered around twenty works in emblematic locations throughout the city, such as Place du Martroi, the banks of the Loire, and the area around Sainte-Croix Cathedral. Here again, he played with local codes: some mosaics depicted Joan of Arc in an 8-bit version, while others paid homage to the city's medieval history. Similarly, in November 2024, several interventions took place in the Basque Country, notably in Biarritz, Bayonne, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and Guéthary. These mosaics, sometimes inspired by the marine world, surfing, or the Basque pediment, color the oceanfront facades and offer an unexpected dialogue between regional tradition and pixelated culture. One of them, in Anglet, features a stylized pixelated surfboard, proof that the artist also knows how to make his visual language vibrate to the rhythm of local identities.

The BAB invasion map. For each of his major invasions, the street artist publishes a map that allows users to locate his works.

A Global Work in Perpetual Motion

With Amiens, Orléans, the Basque Country, and many other cities, Invader continues his ambitious project of artistic invasion on a global scale. Each mosaic he installs is a piece of this global puzzle, both discreet and monumental. The artist, always masked, leaves behind luminous, playful, and poetic traces. Through his works, he reinvents our relationship with urban space, transforms everyday life into a field of observation, and invites everyone to open their eyes to the beauty that emerges where we least expect it. His art, free, gratuitous, and elusive, acts like a breath of fresh air in our frozen landscapes. He reminds us that, even on an ordinary brick wall, a pixel from elsewhere can appear, carrying a simple message: art is everywhere, as long as we are willing to see it.