Dancing flowers, guys having breakfast on a snake’s back, a snail taking a coffee and cigarette break, a red-hooded tagger, an octopus watering plants: only some of the extraordinary Labrosse characters that have been taking over iconic buildings in Budapest each week from the summer of 2019. Even though the Budapest by Labrosse series came to its end in September, from November 2 the most sharp-eyed will be able to take the twelve illustrations home in the form of an extra-limited print collection. Stay tuned, don’t miss the chance!
Even though French-born Daniel Labrosse does not only draw on paper – he has already decorated telephones, clocks, chairs and other types of furniture with his funny signs and crammed crowd-scenes –, he always has an A5 sketchbook on him, so that he can sketch any ideas that may pop up in his head. So far he has filled six sketchbooks this year, he just started drawing in the seventh. His graphics about Budapest also came to life in a small notebook like this before HYPEANDHYPER jumped at them.
Inspired by Keith Haring, Dani’s characters are part of a well-built and unique world, with some regulars appearing on several drawings, including the permanently panicking pigeons, the black and white striped snake, the flower-headed guy and the red-hooded tagger. From the summer of 2019, these characters took over an iconic building in Budapest each month, wallowing in them even during the time of the quarantine.
“I don’t really think about why they are there, on the contrary, many times I draw so many characters on my illustrations that I forget who’s where, and then when I look at them again I discover “new” details. When this happens, I imagine who these characters are, what their name and story is, and so on. In the majority of my drawings, I focus on individuality and this is my goal in this series, too. I like to portray the oddities of people, anything that makes them special” – explained Dani about his characteristic, odd figures, who occupied buildings in Budapest like Palatinus House, the block on Várkert Quay, Bedő House, Anker House, Gresham Palace, the ‘Dugattyús’ House, Lindenbaum House, the Citadella, the Postal Palace in Buda, Dunapark House, the houses of II. János Pál pápa tér and the Margaret Island Water Tower. The short texts presenting the history of the buildings and the unique prologues written for the Budapest by Labrosse illustrations were created by Lili Farkas-Zentai, the editor-in-chief of HYPEANDHYPER, who also happens to be a great fan of Budapest.
“I remember that I came across the drawing made of Palatinus House on Dani’s Instagram account. I contacted him instantly and asked him »Dani, what’s this?«. A few weeks later, we agreed in Kelet Café that we will launch this Budapest-focused illustration series on HYPE. I like to work with him very much, not only because he is incredibly nice and humble, but also because he has cool ideas, he is always looking for new techniques and tools, he’s creative like crazy, and of course extremely talented! Even though the Budapest by Labrosse series came to an end on HYPEANDHYPER with the Margaret Island Water Tower, we already have plans for the future – it is our not so secret plan to release them in the form of a publication” – Lili told us.
On November 2, we release an extra limited print collection of the twelve “Budapest by Labrosse” illustrations published on HYPEANDHYPER – only five (!) signed and numbered giclée prints will be available of each drawing. Stay tuned, don’t miss the chance!
You can order the extra-limited collection via HYPE STORE.
Budapest by Labrosse prints
Click on the poster’s name and head to the online store right away!
Budapest by Labrosse | Palatinus House
Budapest by Labrosse | The block on Várkert Quay
Budapest by Labrosse | Bedő House
Budapest by Labrosse | Anker House
Budapest by Labrosse | Gresham Palace
Budapest by Labrosse | ‘Dugattyús’ House
Budapest by Labrosse | Lindenbaum House
Budapest by Labrosse | Citadella
Budapest by Labrosse | Postal Palace in Buda
Budapest by Labrosse | Dunapark House
Budapest by Labrosse | II. János Pál pápa tér
Budapest by Labrosse | Margaret Island Water Tower
Campaign photos: Milán Rácmolnár
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