One of the things I love about Paris is its bounty of hidden pockets of delight. One minute you’re walking down a street filled with shops, bars and restaurants, you turn a corner and a beautiful little park or something quirky will catch your eye. The I Love You Wall in Square Jehan Rictus is a prime example.
Square Jehan Rictus, a tranquil park close to Abbesses metro station
The Square
Square Jehan Rictus is a small park close to Abbesses métro station (the one with the iconic Art Nouveau “Metropolitain” sign). It is leafy and quiet, the perfect place to stop, rest for a while and nibble on a baguette. The I Love You Wall or Mur des Je T’Aime is a remarkable artwork housed on a wall in the garden.
The Artist
The “I Love You” wall is the inspiration of artist, Frédéric Baron. Early in the 1990’s he started collecting versions of the words “I Love You” written in different languages on pieces of paper. Each piece was the same size, 21cm x 29.7cm, the size of an A4 sheet of paper. Over the years he collected over a 1000 versions and in 1998 created the book of I love yous. (you can download a free copy from the website)
Collaboration
He then collaborated with Oriental calligrapher, Claire Kito, who transposed all the scraps of paper onto the massive mural that is spread across a wall in the square. The mural comprises 611 tiles made of blue enamelled lava in the same size as the original scraps of paper on which they were written.
It measures 40 square metres. The entire project was pulled together by Daniel Boulogne, a specialist in murals. Splashes of red across the mural depict the pieces of a broken heart.
You can read more of Frederic’s story here Le mur des je t’aime