[ZOOM KOREA] Street artist brings iconic cat to remote Korean island

Arts & Design

Published: 07 Aug. 2023, 16:30 Updated: 07 Aug. 2023, 19:26

[ZOOM KOREA] Street artist brings iconic cat to remote Korean island

Thoma Vuille colors his painting of M.Chat and Ulleung Island at Stay Neowa, a lodging on Ulleung Island, North Gyeongsang. [PARK SANG-MOON]

The final result of Thoma Vuille's painting of M.Chat against a backdrop of local scenery that he drew during his stay at Stay Neowa, a lodging on Ulleung Island, North Gyeongsang. The painting was drawn on a 3-meter (9.8-feet) by 3-meter canvas. [PARK SANG-MOON]

A sly grin. Six bright white teeth. Golden fur.

Visitors to Paris are no doubt familiar with "M.Chat," the iconic illustrated cat that greets passersby from walls and scenic spots throughout the city, including the Eiffel Tower.

The street artist behind the famous feline, Thoma Vuille, has now brought his creation to Korea's Ulleung Island, a beautiful but remote volcanic outpost in the East Sea.

Born in 1977 in Boudry, Switzerland, Vuille moved to France with his parents when he was young. As an artist, he has worked around the world, but mainly in Paris. Vuille’s cat is nicknamed M.Chat. The M in M.Chat stands for monsieur, the French word for "mister." Chat is French for "cat."

Thoma Vuille paints well into the night in order to finish his M.Chat painting. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Thoma Vuille does a fire performance while painting M.Chat against a backdrop of local scenery at Stay Neowa, a lodging on Ulleung Island, North Gyeongsang. [PARK SANG-MOON]

One of Thoma Vuille's Ulleung Island-inspired works [POMONA]

As a teenager, Vuille spent a lot of time worrying about his future. He tried his hand in several fields, including mechanical work, but found none of them satisfying. Then one day, his aunt encouraged him to try art. He fell in love with it. He fell even deeper in love with the profession after seeing a nude model while studying.

For art school, he could have gone to the Beaux-Arts de Paris, one of the most prestigious academies in the world. However, he chose the Orleans School of Art and Design in north-central France, where the competition for admissions was 300 to one.

Upon entering the school, Vuille set about establishing an artistic vision all his own.

One day, he saw an illustration of a smiling cat drawn by a young girl in Pakistan. Mesmerized, he immersed himself in graphically reinterpreting his own cat. And so M.Chat was born. The artist repeatedly modified the image in Orleans between 1996 to 2001, producing the cat the world loves today.

One of Thoma Vuille's Ulleung Island-inspired works [POMONA]

Vuille turned to graffiti, and the world became his canvas. He drew his cat on nearby walls, street squares, subway stations and even rural fields. His dedication to his art sometimes landed him in trouble with the police, who didn't share his enthusiasm for street art. He even received a three-month jail sentence for habitually breaking France's laws against graffiti.

Vuille’s masterpiece was the "world's largest cat," a 50-meter-wide (164-feet) and 25-meter-tall illustration painted at the Pompidou Centre in Paris in December 2004. This work was so popular that the French daily newspaper Libération covered it. This served as an opportunity for Vuille to shed his "street artist" image and establish himself as an "artist who communicates with the public."

Vuille uses clear, simple lines to express his love for the city. Likewise, with M.Chat, he seeks to inspire dialogue and even intercultural exchange. He has drawn them in places scarred by war, including Vietnam, Kosovo and Sarajevo, conveying messages of peace and freedom.

One of Thoma Vuille's Ulleung Island-inspired works [POMONA]

Thoma Vuille paints M.Chat with the backdrop of Ulleung Island at Stay Neowa, a lodging on Ulleung Island, North Gyeongsang. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Although Vuille’s early work focused on the streets, he soon expanded to other spaces. He is also always seeking to expand the scope of his work with an open mind, paying homage to internationally renowned artists such as Henri Matisse, Keith Haring and Fernand Léger.

Vuille is now working hard to move his mural works onto canvas. Moreover, he is expanding his activities beyond Europe to the rest of the world, including Asia, Africa and the Americans.

Vuille visited Ulleung Island on July 12 at the invitation of Moon Bo-sang, CEO of local bed-and-breakfast Stay Neowa. While there, he completed a painting of the island's scenery on a 3-meter by 3-meter canvas. Vuille said that he saw the most beautiful moon in his life on Ulleung Island, and that he could not help but admire the natural scenery, spread before the viewer like a traditional folding screen.

Thoma Vuille poses with Ulleung Middle School students for a photograph after finishing his wall mural of M.Chat. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Vuille also painted M.Chat on the wall of Stay Neowa in the presence of local residents and students in Ulleung Middle School's art class, which astonished the audience. In Ulleung Island, there are relatively fewer opportunities to experience pop culture, so Vuille’s visit provided a memorable experience.

Through M.Chat, Vuille wants to convey messages of peace and freedom as well as build and record intimate relationships in cities all around the world. M.Chat, he says, believes in coexistence and is confident it can do anything in this beautiful world.