Invader is a French urban artist who, like Banksy, insists on anonymity, working at night while wearing a mask to avoid identification. In the current work TK-64 (2010), Invader uses the iconic, instantly recognisable character from the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders, the subject of his ongoing series of ‘invasion waves’ that the artist started in Paris in 1998.
Made of ceramic tiles, Invader’s works resemble mosaics and mirror the pixelations of the famous video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado from which Invader draws his inspiration. TK-64 was originally installed at a roundabout in Yoyogi, Tokyo, 11 September 2001. The brilliant, emerald green of the present work is immediately eye-catching, making Invader’s central protagonist stand out. Despite the simplistic imagery of the work, it is imbued with character as the eyes look off to one side, perhaps curious or suspicious, but definitely enigmatic.
TK-64 installed at its original Yoyogi location, Tokyo, 2001
Invader makes art that is for everyone, beyond the context of the museum or gallery, taking his art to the streets. His distinctive tiled work can be seen in more than 65 cities in 33 countries around the world, including Hong Kong, a city that the artist has visited several times since the start of his career. In an unprecedented collaboration with the shopping mall, Harbour City in December 2017, Invader situated 18 artworks throughout the venue, including images of his iconic Space Invader as seen in TK-64, and Pac-Man Ghosts.
Further reinforcing the interactive nature of his street interventions, Invader has developed an app called ‘Flash Invaders’, a reality game that allows participants to take pictures of the artist’s works on the street and upload them to the app, competing with other players on an international leaderboard to find the most Invaders around the world’s cities.
Example of Invader’s work at Harbour City, Hong Kong in 2017
Provenance
Gallery Target, Tokyo SBI Art Auction, Tokyo, 26 October 2013, lot 197 Walls Tokyo, Tokyo Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
Tokyo, Gallery Target, Home Sweet Home, 29 October - 19 November 2010
signed with the artist's symbol, titled and dated ' "TK.64" 2010' on the reverse ceramic and glass tiles on Plexiglas panel and ID card 13.9 x 25.8 cm. (5 1/2 x 10 1/8 in.) Executed in 2010, this work is accompanied by an ID card signed and dated by the artist.