Critical Review
Home Neptune is a signed screen print on paper made by the renowned French street artist Invader. Produced in 2010 and coming in an edition size of 50, the print shows a pixelated alien character rendered in red with white eyes. The character is set against a vibrant blue background. The alien depicted in this print is a character from the popular arcade game, Space Invaders, which was made by Japanese engineer and game designer Nishikado Tomohiro in 1978.
Invader is best known for his ‘invasions’ in which the artist adorns the streets of bustling cities with mosaics of pixelated characters from Space Invaders. The mosaics are made out of small, ceramic, square tiles which the artist sticks to street walls using cement or glue. Known as the ‘Space Invaders Project’, these invasions have taken place in over 30 countries and the project has come to be one of the most elaborate street art stunts in art history.
As well as taking inspiration from Space Invaders, Invader has created artworks inspired by other 8-bit video games such as Pac-Man. The artist was also inspired by cartoon and comic book characters like Pink Panther, Spider-Man and Popeye. Producing artworks inspired by popular culture captures how Invader’s art questions what should be considered ‘high’ culture and fine art.
