The mural features a character painted in KASHINK’s recognizable style, a mask-like face surrounded by flowing black hair. KASHINK says her paintings are a form of self-portraiture, but she invites viewers to offer their own perspectives.
KASHINK, a resident of Paris, is one of the few international women artists that are very active in urban art. Her work is questioning aesthetic codes and the definition of identity. Whether in celebration of diversity or as a confrontation with social norms, KASHINK considers herself an activist. Since 2013, she’s been wearing a pencil-on mustache as her daily makeup. She considers it a statement as well as a sociological experiment, creating random conversations with strangers about beauty, gender, norms, and freedom.
“Everyone is comfortable with the idea of being against these norms, against rules, but not everyone is comfortable with questioning the huge definition of humans as ‘men and women.’ I feel the need to push that and try to show that it’s possible.”
