Jaune - The Stencil Artist Celebrating Those Who Build our World
Written by Anne Van Bree
Jaune is a stencil artist and urban interventionist from Brussels. His work explores the tension between visibility and invisibility, with sanitation workers as central figures. Drawing from his own experience in the profession, he began in 2011 to symbolically free these overlooked characters by placing them in ever more absurd and whimsical scenarios. In doing so, he transforms the keepers of order into bringers of chaos.
Being a trash cleaner during his summer job in Brussels had a big impact on Jaune: “Even if I was dressed like a Teletubbie, I felt totally invisible. Nobody was really paying attention. I realized how important these people are: if they stop working, everybody is in trouble.” The first piece he painted were three little characters cleaning the graffiti of someone else. Stencil art felt close to graphic design, which he was studying at the time. “You can create a powerful message with just one image.”
Jaune calls the tiny characters in high visibility uniforms (hi-vis) clothing ‘workers.’ They can be any sort of worker. A construction worker, sanitary worker, or trash cleaner. “All the people who build and maintain the world,” Jaune added.
She told me she did not like the graffiti—especially not the dick. So, I erased everything except the dick drawing and painted a character that looked like it was creating it. When she came back and saw it, she absolutely loved it. I really like that art can change perspective.”
While painting at Nuart Festival in Norway in 2016, Jaune came across a corner of a house covered in graffiti. Among the tags was a small drawing of a dick. “As I started painting, the owner of the house saw me and was thrilled that I was creating something new for the wall. She told me she did not like the graffiti—especially not the dick. So, I erased everything except the dick drawing and painted a character that looked like it was creating it. When she came back and saw it, she absolutely loved it. I really like that art can change perspective.”
Whenever you stumble across an artwork by Jaune, do not expect the workers to be actually working. They do everything but that. They fly on brooms, practice kung-fu, slide down ropes or sip drinks. “Something I really like about my art is that it puts a smile on people’s faces. With everything that is going on in the world, it is really revolutionary to make people smile. It is an act of resistance,” Jaune said. His job is to paint, the job of the people watching is to interpret.
“Something I really like about my art is that it puts a smile on people’s faces. With everything that is going on in the world, it is really revolutionary to make people smile. It is an act of resistance,”
When Jaune started traveling for his art, he noticed that there are fluor jackets everywhere. “Whenever I am somewhere new, I just look which color the workers wear and I adapt. Sometimes they recognize themselves and think I am making fun of them. But usually they are like ‘yo, that’s me on the wall!’” Jaune’s art also has an impact on others. “People tell me that, because of my work, they now say hello to street workers. Some even rediscover their own city because the tiny, hidden characters encourage them to look more closely.”
The Belgian artist takes a big collection of characters with him when he is on a painting job. Sometimes more than 150, which gives him the right worker for every situation. “Oh, there is a crack in the wall? I have the perfect guy for that!” Those workers are all based on real life people. “I dress family, friends and sometimes myself as a worker. I ask them to pose for a photograph, I re-draw the character and laser cut them. That’s my process.” For Jaune, who calls himself ‘stencil geek’, it is all about the technique.
Besides creating those little dudes, he also paints big walls with windows, streets, shops and houses: complete landscapes. “I like to make people lose time. You really have to watch and see all these little stories in one.” Everything is painted individually with stencils. These walls represent the place where Jaune is staying.
The Belgian artist takes a big collection of characters with him when he is on a painting job. Sometimes more than 150, which gives him the right worker for every situation.
‘The world belongs to those who build it’ is a frequently used phrase by Jaune. He explained, “I pay way more respect to someone who works with his hands than someone who owns the company. The workers make the job. When I am painting somewhere, I always keep in contact with the man who maintains the building. Being with the people that know all the tricks of the city, those are the real kings of the world.”
With his stencil characters, Jaune creates his own little army spread around the globe. “They are always a friend or a family member. I am constantly leaving a piece of them and myself somewhere in the world,” he added.
Anne van Bree is a journalist from Breda with a passion for public art that began in her teenage years. Accompanied by her camera, she explores new places by capturing the artwork on their walls. Her work focuses on uncovering the stories behind street art and graffiti, as well as the vibrant culture they represent.