Zevs

ZEVS, who started out as a graffiti writer in Paris in the 90s, has throughout the years impersonated various characters such as The Shadow Flasher and The Seri- al Ad Killer. More recently, however, his most well-known impersonation has been that of the clearheaded and accessible Aguirre Schwarz a.k.a. the man behind the leopard skin stockings. As the story goes, he owes his surname to the Spanish conqueror played by Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God who gets lost in the Amazonas in search of El Dorado. And his last name to the dark forces that animate him.

ZEVS is named after a train that almost ran him over while he was tagging down in the Metro. In 1998, he left traditional graffiti behind in favor of outlining shadows with road paint in the streets of Paris. A couple of years later, he turned to advertisements, executing models on billboards with red spray paint running down their faces. On a trip to Berlin in 2002, he kidnapped a 10 meter tall model on an advertisement for Lavazza. When the hostage was set free in 2005, ZEVS turned to liquidating logos in the cityscape by repainting the logos as if they are dripping. ZEVS is among others also known for his so-called 'proper graffiti' executed with high-pressure jet on dirty city walls and graffiti with UV paint only visible in black light.