Karin Berndl : Beauty-Hommage to Parisian graffiti legend Blek Le Rat

London-based photographer Karin BERNDL c/o GUNDA PATZKE collaborated with art director and illustrator Heidi Taylor to create a beauty special for the latest issue of BOOKLET. This time it was a make-up and powder series, inspired by French stencil graffiti legend Blek Le Rat, alias Xavier Prou.

Xavier first began drawing attention to himself by spraying a horde of rats across Paris in 1981. In fact, he gained so much attention that he was brought to court in 1991. Why rats? Rats, according to Blek, are the true rebels of the city, untamed, free. And people are scared of them too.

Le Rat began his “career” after an inspiring trip to New York. Today, he has been accepted by the establishment. The British newspaper, The Independent has recently even described him as "the godfather… of politically conscious graffiti". Even renowned British street artist Banksy, whose work fetches sky-high prices, tips his hat: "every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well, only twenty years earlier".
Today, Blek’s work is displayed and sold in galleries all over the world. Blek has just “released” some new work in central London. And now you can see those nasty traffic jams as a good excuse for viewing his latest work!