The "I love you wall" is a work imagined by Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito. It has become an unavoidable landmark for lovers from all over the world who meet in Paris, the capital of romance.
The wall, built on a surface of 40 m², in the Square Jehan Rictus, in Montmartre in Paris, is composed of 612 tiles in enamelled lava. On these tiles are calligraphed 311 "I love you" in 250 common languages, but also in rare or forgotten dialects like Navajo, Inuit, Bambara or Esperanto.
The symbolism of the wall: the division and the broken heart that can also be re-composed
The symbol of this wall is a personal choice of the artist. A wall is most often a symbol of division and separation. Frédéric Baron wished here that a wall could also be a support for the most beautiful of human feelings: Love. The splinters of red that dot the mural are a symbol of hope. They represent the pieces of a broken heart which, if put together, form a perfectly composed heart again.
The "Wall of I love you" in our time
In our violent world, dominated by individualism, walls, like borders, generally have the function of dividing, separating people, protecting themselves from the other. The I love you wall is, on the contrary, a link, a place of reconciliation, a mirror that reflects an image of love and peace.
The wall of I love you is a monument dedicated to love erected in the romantic garden of the square Jehan Rictus, place des Abbesses in Paris-Montmartre. This work imagined by Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito has become a meeting place for lovers from around the world. For a stroll or a hike in love, an unusual stage of your honeymoon, the discovery of a tourist place impossible to circumvent, to say I love you in several languages, to stroll in one of the most romantic places of Paris, we invite you to discover The Wall of Love.
The history of the work
The idea was conceived by Frederic Baron, a multidisciplinary artist, who asked his entourage, family, neighbors, friends and passers-by to write words of love in their language. In this way, he collected "I love you" in more than 250 idioms and dialects from all over the world.
In 1997, he approached Claire Kito, a painter and calligrapher. He proposed her to participate in this project of mural work. Together, they prospect at first in the Paris region, then in Paris intra muros, in order to find the ideal location. As the project evolved, Claire Kito put together the different graphics and the location became clear: it would be at the foot of the Butte Montmartre.
Daniel Boulogne joined the team in 1998. He is a specialist in painted walls, an art builder and the author of several books on the subject published by Gallimard. He is in charge of the construction of the work, inaugurated in the fall of 2000, made on enamelled plates,
The "I love you wall" on the internet
The "I love you's" can be consulted directly here by clicking on "Le Mur des Je t'aime".
Add a review