Thursday Salute to Originals: Resting Giants

French artists Ella & Pitr paint massive murals of sleeping giants, smooshed and contorted into rooftops, lots and buildings.

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Flying over the Paris Parc Expo in France, looking down is normally a boring view of concrete and cars. That was until artist duo Ella & Pitr decided to transform the gray space into a massive mural of a sleeping grandmother!

This mural is part of a larger, untitled public art project that decorates un-inspiring horizontal surfaces with colorful illustrations of sleepy characters. Often inspired by social and political issues, the topics of the murals will range from the global migrant crisis to climate change, all in the French flag’s color palette of red, white and blue.

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Ella & Pitr’s art isn’t limited to France, however. Giant murals like this have appeared across Europe in Bulgaria, Croatia, Colombia, Norway and around the world, too.

Each installation is a massive undertaking, usually requiring a team of volunteers to work over a week to finish. Their most recent picture of the giant sleeping grandmother measures almost 270,000 square feet and took a team eight days to complete.

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This Thursday, we’re saluting Ella & Pitr and their giant sleepy murals. Best viewed from above, their work is transforming landscapes into playful illustrations that reflect the real-world issues of our time. You can view more of the artists’ travels and illustrations on Instagram.

Sources: Ella and Pitr, This is Colossal