DON'T LOOK UP MURAL BY JEAN ROOBLE [WATERFORD WALLS 2024]
The Artist and the Urban Canvas
This post explores the celebrated French artist, Jean Rooble, and his significant contribution to the 2024 Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the festival showcased over 40 artists from around the globe. As a central part of a long-standing partnership with the French Embassy, the event welcomed three prominent figures from the French street art scene: Williann, Claire Prouvost, and Jean Rooble.
The highlight of the festival was Rooble's mural, "Don't Look Up", a powerful piece that now stands as a permanent fixture in Waterford's extensive collection of large-scale artworks. This work is a defining statement, as it's the only mural he has produced for the Waterford Walls festival. By examining the confluence of his personal philosophy and the sociopolitical message of the mural, a deeper appreciation for its context and impact can be achieved.
A Journey from Graffiti to Hyper-realism
Born in Versailles in 1981, Jean Rooble's artistic journey began with the hip-hop culture of the 1990s. His early work was rooted in the raw, energetic forms of graffiti, a foundational training ground for a more ambitious artistic pursuit. Over time, this practice evolved into a meticulous, photo-realistic style. This transformation represents not just a change in aesthetic but a fundamental shift in artistic intent—a maturation from subcultural expression to a public, universal commentary.
Rooble operates exclusively with spray paint and works freehand, a choice that sets him apart from many contemporary muralists who use stencils or projectors. This method transforms the act of painting into a virtuoso performance, connecting the monumental scale of his works to the intimate, deliberate movements of the human hand. His creations are based on his own photographs, which allows him to maintain full creative control and gives each piece a personal origin story.
A defining characteristic of his work is a profound engagement with classical painting techniques, particularly chiaroscuro—the dramatic use of light and shadow. He uses high contrasts to produce visually striking and emotionally resonant effects, a deliberate choice that positions his street art within the rich lineage of Western art history. This fusion of classical techniques with a modern medium gives his work a sculptural quality, forcing an immediate and compelling confrontation between the viewer and the humanity depicted on the wall.
The Creation of "Don't Look Up"
The mural is located at 12 Mount Sion Avenue and was painted between August 9th and 16th. Measuring 7 metres by 6 metres, the piece's title, "Don't Look Up," is provocative, hinting at a deeper message that subverts the immediate interpretation one might draw from the 2021 film of the same name.
The subject of the portrait is a fellow artist, Miadana Randriamorasata, a French-Malagasy creative. The decision to portray a peer is particularly meaningful, as it transforms the mural from a simple commission into a deliberate act of artistic collaboration. The two artists met at a festival, and Rooble was inspired to ask for her photograph for a future project. This personal connection infuses the mural with an authenticity that a generic subject could not provide. The portrait’s subtitle, "Immobile Traveller," is a name Miadana uses herself, a nod to her own artistry. As an artist who explores identity and memory, her work resonates directly with Rooble's artistic philosophy, making the choice of subject a foundational element for the mural's overarching message.
A Sociopolitical Reading: Colonialism and Shared Heritage
The core of "Don't Look Up" lies in its profound sociopolitical commentary. Rooble states that the mural is intended to explore "what binds, beyond seas and oceans, colonised peoples". This statement transforms the portrait into a powerful act of transnational solidarity. By choosing an Irish city as his canvas and a French-Malagasy artist as his subject, Rooble creates a visual argument for a shared experience of colonisation that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries. He explicitly names a cross-section of nationalities to illustrate this bond: Irish, Malagasy, Moroccan, Palestinian, and Kanak peoples.
The mural's location in a working-class district of Waterford is crucial to understanding its full impact. By placing this conversation about systemic inequality and post-colonial identity directly into a community that has historically experienced its effects, Rooble ensures the message is both grounded and accessible. Ireland, with its complex history of British rule, provides a powerful and receptive context for a discussion of colonialism. By explicitly linking the Irish experience with those of Malagasy and other colonised identities, the mural becomes a site of shared memory. It transforms a local wall into a focal point for a global dialogue, encouraging viewers to recognise the common struggles and resilience that unite disparate communities across the world.
The mural's political weight is further amplified by Rooble's comments on the artistic freedom he experienced while creating it. He notes that he was able to address the theme of colonisation in Ireland "without the censorship that has become too common in France". This powerful assertion of artistic agency and a subtle critique of the sociopolitical climate in his home country shows how street art can function as a tool for global political commentary.
The Meaning of the Title
The title itself, "Don't Look Up," is a profound and deliberate act of re-framing. While it may echo the 2021 satirical film of the same name, the mural's true meaning, as contextualised by the artist's thematic intentions, is a call to action. The film's title urges people to face a looming existential threat, symbolised by a comet. Rooble’s mural, however, subverts this directive. Instead of looking "up" towards a distant authority or an external threat, he is imploring the viewer to look horizontally—at the person next to them, at the history embedded in their surroundings, and at the shared humanity that links them to people across oceans. The title is a directive: cease looking for abstract ideals or distant solutions and instead, begin by recognising the shared history and solidarity with the people around you.