From Paris with Love: When Miss.Tic Came to Stay
Miss.Tic is a veteran of the Parisian street art scene; she’s been spraying her black and red creations – mostly corruptions of the clichéd images of women from the world of advertising – onto the walls and billboards of the French capital since the 80s. The accompanying messages – at times playful, at times political, but always poetic and rich in meaning – are often just a few words long.
Miss.Tic: La réciprocité est un mystère ("reciprocity is a mystery")
Last year, our neighbours, the Institut Français in Berlin, invited Miss.Tic to put on an exhibition of her works in the German capital. She didn’t have to look far for the perfect place to rest her head. For five days, we had the honour of welcoming la grande dame at the Hôtel Concorde Berlin. Miss.Tic enjoyed her stay with us so much that she decided to leave us a little something to remember her by before checking out. For a street artist that can only mean one thing: “Fetch me my spray can!”
Miss.Tic gets to work on a wall up on the 11th floor
Miss.Tic’s first love was actually the theatre, but, realising that she would not be able to make a living on the stage, she soon abandoned this career path. Or did she? As the lucky invitees and assembled camera crew await her appearance up on the 11th floor of the Hotel Concorde, the suspense is palpable.
Invitation to Miss.Tic live performance at Hotel Concorde
She is due to give a live performance at the hotel – armed with a couple of spray cans – but even the general manager, Carsten Colmorgen, isn’t entirely sure of what to expect. “I wasn’t worried though”, he reassures me.
Our General Manager, Carsten Colmorgen, admires Hotel Concorde's latest piece of artwork
Miss.Tic eventually emerges from her room and gets straight to work with her performance; something of the clandestine urgency of the graffiti artist still remains. Her male assistant holds the stencil in place as she sprays. First black with her right hand, then red with her left hand; one black glove, one red glove. C’est fini! The two embrace theatrically for the cameras in front of the newest addition to the impressive art collection at the Hotel Concorde.
Miss.Tic and her assistant celebrating a job well done
The 10th and 111th floor of the hotel are normally reserved for Club Etoile members (watch this space for more on the benefits of Club Etoile), but a few kind words at reception and non-members are sure to gain access to the mural on the 11th floor. Reciprocity may, as the mural proclaims, be a mystery, but one thing’s for sure: we love Miss.Tic just as much as she loves the Hotel Concorde!
