Mister Cat: Seducing Passersby

One of my favorite things in the world is to photograph urban art and graffiti. This yellow cat shows up all over Lisbon. Its creator, Thoma Vuille, has a very interesting story, it turns out.

The 30 year old former fine art student runs art workshops for disadvantaged children. He cites various influences, from post-graffiti and pop art. At night he dons a mask and climbs, spray-can in hand, to balance precariously on chimneys and drainpipes.

The artist is rather eccentric, perhaps a little ‘autistic’. He has lived for the past decade on his jobseekers’ allowance. Out of tune with others, Mister Cat is perhaps Thoma’s way of communicating, or even of existing. ‘It is his social incarnation,’ says Gilles Flouret of Collectif Chat, a French organisation launched two years ago to support the project and the artist. ‘Thoma wants to be seen and recognised, but in a passive way.’

Here's a video with a collection of graffiti art on Lisbon trains.