Critical Review
Alert: System Infected (blue and red) is a signed screen print produced by the critically acclaimed French street artist Invader in 2020. The print comes in an edition size of 60 and shows a composition made out of small, square tiles. The composition is reminiscent of a mosaic and is dominated by white, red and blue tiles. Against a backdrop of bright blue tiles Invader produces a shape that looks like a speech bubble that would be found in a cartoon-strip or comic book. Inside the bubble is an alien composed of red tiles. Energy lines emit from the alien suggesting it is talking to or trying to communicate with other aliens.
The alien character depicted in Alert: System Infected (blue and red) can be seen alongside Alert: System Infected (black and red) which was produced earlier in 2001. The print has a similar design but uses a different colour scheme. Both prints were inspired by the popular arcade game, Space Invaders, which was created by Japanese game manufacturer Taito in 1978. Space Invaders plays a fundamental role in Invader’s artistic career, even the artist’s pseudonym was inspired by the game.
The use of mosaic tiles in Alert: System Infected (blue and red) captures the essence of Invader’s visual language and has become a trademark feature of the artist’s style. The effect of using these tiles is that Invader’s artworks resonate with the 8-bit visual register of arcade games.
