Critical Review
Invasion Kit 6, Runner is a ceramic artwork produced by the acclaimed French street artist Invader in 2007. The artwork consists of a set of ceramic tiles, predominantly blue which, when assembled according to the written instructions by Invader himself, take on the appearance of an alien from the popular arcade game created by Taito in 1978, Space Invaders. The artwork comes in an edition size of 150 and can be seen alongside other Invasion Kits made by the artist.
Invader’s Invasion Kits are part of his ground-breaking project, the Space Invaders project, which the artist started in 1998. The ongoing project involves Invader travelling all over the world and carrying out ‘invasion waves’ in which he installs mosaics of aliens from the Space Invaders game onto city walls. The artist uses weather resistant mosaic tiles and strong glue or cement to ensure the mosaics can endure adverse weather conditions and leave a long-standing mark on the city.
By producing Invasion Kits, like Invasion Kit 6, Invader encourages everyone to become an ‘Unidentified Free Artist’ (as the artist identifies himself) and take to the streets to produce their own alien mosaics. The kits are made at Invader’s studios and sold in his iconic Space Shop.
