Born in 1985 in Drôme, France, of a father from Guadeloupe and a mother from Valencia, Skem settled in the land of his ancestors in 2012. Self-taught, he discovered graffiti in the late 90s, at a time when the discipline was becoming more and more visible in his native Valencia.
Intrigued by this practice offered to anyone’s eyes, he soon wanted to be one of those who, out of passion, put style and color in the city. He experimented with this urban art and its multiple facets, whether lettering (throw-up, wildstyle, 3D, etc.), characters (comics, realism, etc.) or landscapes (trompe-l’oeil, still life, etc.). A true perfectionist, in 2000 he decided to improve his technique by participating in a training course led by «SUSPECT», a well-respected figure in the art. He later became interested in light-Art, which consists in drawing luminous calligraphy in space, captured and then restored through photographic work. In 2011, he participated in a light-graff exhibition with 3 other artists from Valencia.
With art taking an increasingly important part in his daily life, in 2017 he decided to devote himself fully to it. He broadened his range of techniques to offer interior and exterior decoration services as well as all types of work related to painting, in addition to his work as a muralist / street artist.
A lover of large (even very large!) surfaces, his XXL formats require him to invent meticulous scaling processes, with the aim of offering ever more realistic renderings – the spearhead of his easily recognizable style.
A tireless practitioner for twenty years, he was quickly spotted when he arrived in Guadeloupe, became more professional and began to create sets (especially for the television show Zik Truck). Participations in the Murs Galeries exhibition at the Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes airport, a live show at the Gligli electro lab in Gosier, followed by numerous presentations at regional and international festivals: “World Kreyol Art Festival”, “Just Graff it ”,“Street Art Tour”, etc. In May 2019, he flew to Barcelona to participate in the famous “Meeting of Styles ”, one of the most famous graffiti events worldwide.
His latest monumental fresco in October 2021 is a dedication to Doctor Henry Joseph. Made on an exterior wall of the Pointe-à-Pitre Arts Center, its dimensions of approximately 7m by 10m are a nod to this great ardent defender of the local pharmacopoeia.
If you have the opportunity to stroll across Guadeloupe, keep your eyes open, Skem’s work will never be very far!
CONTACT: Instagram @skem_art / Facebook: Skem
Autor : Mathias Flodrops / Crédits photos : ©Skem
