Mimétisme Mural: The Art of Unintentional Dialogues

When Street Photography France announced Mimétisme Mural as the monthly contest theme, the mandate sounded delightfully simple: capture an accidental interaction between a passerby and street art, a billboard, or a gallery painting. No setups allowed — just pure, unscripted serendipity. Paris is saturated with public art, but I quickly discovered the catch: August empties the city. The artwork was waiting on every corner, but the human half of the composition was unfortunately scattered on vacation.

Wandering through Le Marais to warm up, I staked out a vibrant mural on Rue Beaubourg. After a dozen near-misses, a duo strolled past whose bright blue and pink hair echoed the painted figures exactly (rouge et bleue). In Montmartre, striking artwork abound, but continued empty sidewalks led me to experiment with a double exposure (je penche vers toi) — a creative exercise, even if technically “interdit” for the contest.

Over in Belleville, the ghost-town effect hit hardest. I spent five-minute stretches waiting before moving on, landing a few compelling compositions like a pedestrian walking briskly past a watchful painted portrait (mais tu ne me vois pas) and a classic display window offering a wry moment of cinematic reflection (c’est moi Paul Newman). Returning back to Le Marais, a passerby’s stride perfectly mirrored two towering, wide-eyed mural monsters (les deux monstres).

A trip to a street art expo at Parc de la Villette yielded another atmospheric, “interdit” double exposure where a vibrant mural portrait seemed to playfully appraise a museum visitor (tu es mignon). Walking disappointedly back toward the metro, a pair of gigantic eyes framed a passerby on the sidewalk (je te vois). I do wish the person was looking at the eyes and that car wasn’t there!

Of course, head to the 13th arrondissement! Alas, the murals continued their silent conversations — a iconic stencil portrait by Miss.Tic appeared to watch a man walk past in total indifference (sans regard), while a colorful robotic creature seemed to reach out and tickle a passing traveler (goochie goochie goo).

It was time to submit one photo (yes, only one allowed) but the hunt followed me for the days to come. Sitting at a café near the 6th and 7th arrondissements, a woman stopped at a bus stop, appearing to lean in and inhale a Chanel perfume ad (ça sent bon). On the metro ride home, a commuter hurried past a vibrant pink advertisement that seemed to speak directly to him (l’amour flou). Even at the Fujikina trade show near the Bourse, I caught a moody layered shot (pensées dans l’ombre) though it was another “triché”.

Ultimately, my initial Beaubourg capture took home second place in the SPF competition — along with some wonderful feedback from that competition’s judge. Taking silver turned out to be the sweet spot: all the validation of a strong frame, without the obligation of choosing a theme and judging September’s contest.