Kylian Mbappé, Hugo Lloris, Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, the Blues appear since Friday on the forecourt of the Place de la République in Poissy (Yvelines).
Even Karim Benzema, the last recalled by coach Didier Deschamps for Euro 2021, has his image in black and white.
"Basically, I was working on another player, but it's his big comeback and I absolutely wanted him to appear there", explains the artist Bobby Dollar, in charge of the project.
1.60 m wide and 1.20 m long, the portraits of the stars of the round ball were commissioned by the town hall of Poissy, whose first representative, Karl Olive, is a football fan.
"I accepted this challenge to highlight the power of the France team and French excellence, also in football," says the Parisian artist from Draguignan (Var).
There are no colors.
I find that it brings an additional impact ”.
A “historical” side noticed by Karine, who came to pick up her son Mathis this Monday at Jean-Jaurès college, behind the town hall.
“This year, the three of us will watch the games at home with my husband.
They are both passionate about football, it feels good to have little moments together.
The exhibition is very beautiful, the black and white side adds something historical even if I prefer the colors.
I must say that I find that quite intriguing ”.
"The exhibition put me in a good mood"
While walking in front of the various portraits, Nathan remembered that there was a match this Tuesday evening, against Germany (9 p.m. in Munich).
“I am so taken by my work that going out and seeing an exhibition on football is a pleasure!” Explains this delivery man from Poissy.
I think it's beautiful, it puts in condition, the images represent the France team, the one who will win everything!
"
Poissy: the town hall puts in the Euro with a photo exhibition on the Place de la République Alexandre Plumet
A theatrical representation desired by the artist.
“For the postures of the players, I played in two ways.
Either at a pivotal moment, like celebrating a goal, or staring up into the horizon of victory, ”says Bobby Dollar.
Beside that, there is also a nice game on typography. “I wanted to put keywords that correspond to the history of each player, facts that the public does not necessarily know. For example, I registered the Lens club on the portrait of Raphaël Varane because he played there for several years, but it's unknown ... "Mbappé has him" crack of Bondy ", the city of Seine -Saint-Denis where he was born; Kimpembé, "Paris Saint-Germain", the club that saw him grow ...
This exhibition is a moment of meeting between the public and the players of the France team.
“Football is a passion for many French people.
You just have to remember the atmosphere during the 2018 World Cup to see that it united the people, ”recalls Bobby Dollar, who had an exhibition at the Cité des Sciences to celebrate the first world title of the Blues in 2018 .
"The atmosphere will be less crazy than 2018, but we need it"
This Tuesday evening, Nathan intends to see the shock France - Germany in a bar with friends. “Now is the time to take a breather and enjoy. The atmosphere will be less crazy than in 2018, but we still need it ”. The same goes for the artist himself who has lost the habit of seeing the public. "I'm looking forward to it, getting together as a band to enjoy!" It really marks the reopening to the public and the end of confinement ”.
In Poissy, several bars -
La Cabane
,
Victor Hugo, Le Mouton Blanc and Le Gambetta
, have planned to broadcast the three matches of the Blues during this first round. The Forum Armand-Peugeot (45, rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud) also awaits the public for these first three meetings with a capacity limited to 585 places. Entrance is free (and without reservations) as it will then be during the future fan-zone planned Place de la République if the Blues continue their journey until the Wembley final (Sunday 11 July).
