The French street artist calling himself GoGrazy99 is accused of broadcasting antisemitic images after illegally covering billboards in a Parisian metro station.
In a video published on his social medias, the artist invites the public to discover what he calls his “new exhibition” and the “advertisements replaced by posters” that he pasted in the subway. He presents this operation as a “street art” approach.
The posters show monstrous characters with flashy colors, many of whom have demonic features, flaming eyes and stars of David placed in the center of the face, sometimes in place of the nose. Other representations present shapes reminiscent of snakes or tentacles emerging from the head, in an imagery evoking the Meduse.
Several Internet users and associations have denounced drawings using classic antisemitic visual codes.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, an investigation for “public insult aggravated by discrimination” has been opened and entrusted to the Brigade for the Repression of Personal Crime (BRDP), several French media reported.
For its part, the Paris public transport company RATP said the posters were removed quickly and announced its intention to file a complaint. Metrobus, the network’s advertising agency, also condemned the operation.
This would not be the first time that GoGrazy99 has caused controversy. In the past, associations accused the artist of having posted in the Parisian metro drawings representing a demonic figure flanked by a star of David.
However, the artist rejects the accusations of antisemitism. He claims that the characters represented come from an animated series that he developed and denies any hateful intention.
