Invader (b. 1969) is an unidentified, yet well-known, French street artist. Invader, the pseudonym used to keep his identity anonymous, stems from the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders. He has pursued large scale projects, also named Space Invaders, since 1998. With the dawn of the internet in the nineties, Invader was inspired by computer pixilation, and his recognized body of work consists of pixilated images of video game characters created with square mosaic tiles. He began “freeing” these characters from their video game realities, “invading” the streets of Paris, and soon after, Invader’s work was present in cities all across the globe. Because tiles can be applied directly to walls, they are the perfect medium to accomplish his mission of street visibility on a global scale.
The specific, particular placement of his pieces are what sets him apart from most street artists. He allegedly spends a substantial amount of time scouting locations for his work, taking in the energy of the neighborhood and allowing that to drive the intent for the piece. As his methods have developed, more pieces are custom-made for specific architecture. Overall, Invader has installed over 3,000 pieces in more than 60 cities around the world. Invader’s creatures have become visibly iconic across the globe, particularly in cities like Paris, London, and New York.