Olivier Bonnard, 32, is taking part in the 10e edition of the Mural festival in Montreal. His work took shape under the lens of Valérian Mazataud. It is located at 2-4 Sherbrooke Street East.
How would you describe the mural that you decided to create?
I wanted to represent an artery of the human body to refer to the commercial artery [le boulevard Saint-Laurent]. La Main is an intense street, where a lot is happening, I wanted to show that. […] I painted everything white and did something minimalist with this line, this artery that cuts the building from one side to the other. I mixed in my research on plastic by adding blue recycled plastic ornaments.
How did you become a muralist?
Before, I was doing animated films, which opened up my creative mind. I was already painting from a very young age, and I grew up with a father who did murals in our house, so it came naturally. […] My travels have also inspired me a lot. I discovered more craziness in some designs, brutalism in this art form, it’s super interesting.
What is urban art for, in your opinion?
Artists don’t just do figurative, commercial murals. I believe that we have a role to play in urban planning and the revaluation of space, especially when we see that architecture has failed in its task or that society has abandoned buildings. For example, for my mural, I gave a lot of love to the building that was assigned to me, as if it were mine. I sandblasted the moldings of the roof, I repainted the wall all in white. It wasn’t just a drawing story for me. […] Doing the mural is also a great way to bring a reflection, to make a social or political criticism. It’s not just making a nice drawing for Pinterest or Instagram, in my opinion.