Oides Hunting in Saint-Nazaire
(vero;2021-Feb-14)
Anyone wandering around Saint-Nazaire is bound to see them: cheerful little blue figures painted in all walks of life on walls, fences, WWII blockhouses even some rocks. They are called Oides, which means Doigts (fingers) in Verlan (a French slang consisting in telling words in reverse) and are the creation of the graffiti artist Charles Cantin. The first Oides painted around town were numbered from 1 to 500: many can be found along the coastal path from Donges to Le Croisic and within Saint-Nazaire but there are also quite a few a bit further inland. People took to them very quickly and it became a game to find them, a good pastime for family outings. They became overtime an integral part of the city art scene.
Next step for Cantin has then been to give life to his little creatures by painting them on murals and putting them in all kind of situations or adventures. Most of those murals are in the public space along fences, on the walls of abandoned or derelict buildings but many are also now done on order for schools, restaurants, sport and community halls, you name it. If you want to know more, the Oides have their own Facebook page with pictures and videos of many murals, and even a map to help you locate them.
We love the Oides but like every street art, they are ephemeral: some of them fade with time or are covered by other graffiti, so we have come to the habit of photographing them when we see them. We have two galleries: the first one with some Oides spotted in Saint-Nazaire and around and the second one with Oides on a long mural painted on a fence just after the beach of Port Charlotte.
Oides spotted in Saint-Nazaire and around
Oides on a long mural painted on a fence just after the beach of Port Charlotte in direction of Saint-Nazaire
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$updated from: Other Things French.htxt Mon 04 Mar 2024 16:04:48 trvl2 (By Vero and Thomas Lauer)$