Invader

Invader (b. 1969) is an anonymous French street artist, originally based in Paris, best known for his global project of installing pixelated mosaic characters inspired by the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders. Beginning in the late 1990s, he started clandestinely cementing ceramic tile figures onto city walls, first across Paris and then worldwide, expanding his imagery to include Pac-Man ghosts and other icons of early video game culture.

Each installation is treated as part of an ongoing “invasion,” carefully documented, mapped, and catalogued by the artist. His mosaics—made from weather-resistant tiles that mimic digital pixels—appear in cities across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and beyond, including unexpected locations like the Hollywood Sign and even the International Space Station, where one of his works was sent in 2019.

Alongside his street interventions, Invader produces studio works on materials such as Perspex, plywood, and paper, as well as Rubik’s Cube compositions, paintings, and screen prints, all maintaining his signature 8-bit aesthetic. Since 2000, he has exhibited internationally and gained broader recognition through the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. His work, blending urban intervention with pop culture nostalgia, has become a defining example of contemporary street art and frequently commands high prices on the secondary market.