American, French artists revive hope on giant Paris mural

A colorful human face emerges from waves like a call for hope above a Parisian street

PARIS -- A colorful human face emerges from waves like a call for hope above a Parisian street, in a giant message of optimism from American and French street artists painting a massive mural in the French capital that's slowly climbing out of its virus isolation. lllustrator AJ Dungo, 29, who lives in California, and French graffiti artist Da Cruz, 44, started working in mid-June on the 25-meter (82-foot) high mural in the 19th arrondissement, in the northeast of Paris. The project, to be inaugurated Saturday, is a symbol of creative rebirth, and of both cultures reconnecting after lockdowns. Da Cruz, who grew up in this Parisian neighborhood and used to travel regularly to different continents, said it was hard for him to see his projects stopped amid the pandemic.