French artist debuts ‘coexist’ campaign
Street artist known only as COMBO distributes hundreds of posters and encouraged people to paste them around Paris
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
French street artist COMBO started a campaign Sunday to plaster the streets of Paris with “Coexist” flyers. He started this movement after four men assaulted him two weeks ago for refusing to take down a similar, peaceful mural.
COMBO, who also goes by COMBO Cultural Kidnapper, was born in France to a Lebanese Christian father and a Moroccan Muslim mother. He principally works by gluing the posters he designs to buildings with a wheat paste, but also occasionally spray paints his messages.
On January 30 COMBO spray painted “Coexist,” but with the C replaced by a Muslim crescent moon, the X replaced by a Jewish star and the T replaced by a Christian cross, next to a life-sized portrait of himself.
Four men approached COMBO, the street artist explained in a post on Instagram, along with a graphic picture of his bruised and swollen face, and demanded that he take down the mural. When COMBO refused, he said, they attacked him.
“I ended up on the ground, beaten up. I managed to defend myself and absorb the blows that were raining on me,” he posted. “Realizing I wouldn’t budge, they left me bleeding, promising that I’ll receive the same punishment if I’d ever do it again, and recommending I shave my beard.”
● COEXIST ● #nevergiveup #streetartparis pic.twitter.com/5b4UgWmFmN
— COMBO (@Combo_Ck) February 2, 2015
Combo told the British Daily Mail that things are more difficult for Arab and Muslim French citizens. “[Paris] is different, clearly,” he said.
“The way people look at me especially. Not because of my origins I believe, but because of my beard,” he added.
A few days after the assault he created a Facebook event, inviting people to the Arab World Institute in Paris to take a “Coexist” poster and to paste it somewhere in Paris.
Avec @Combo_Ck sur le parvis de @imarabe #nevergiveup #streetart #streetartparis pic.twitter.com/AQR3HyiKGV
— Jack Lang (@jack_lang) February 8, 2015
Jack Lang, a socialist French politician whose father is Jewish, is the president of the Arab World Institute and appeared with COMBO at the event.
Hundreds of posters were distributed at the institute and participants posted photographs on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter of the posters all around the city.
The Times of Israel Community.