Le Boulevard de Banni

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Illustration (with Zoê Byrne)

 

Le Boulevard de Banni is a fictional street in an undisclosed location, and it is home to a number of most unusual characters. Raoul Da Silva is both dog walker and assassin; Artur Odermatt is the leader of a feared gang of ruthless outlaws, whilst maintaining a day job as a launderette operator; Purissima Harkleroad is the proprietor of a doll's hospital with a difference and Ludwig Kratz keeps the peace in his own special way.

 

Each resident is under the considerable influence of one Herr Franck Muller, a master illusionist and all round helpful chap. He is the main character in "The Master of Complications", a book and exhibition of illustrated stories. For this exhibition Zoë & I painted directly on to the walls of Common, in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

 

We used the Northern Quarter's ornate industrial buildings as the inspiration for the shops and residences in Le Boulevard de Banni. Zoë photographed the shops, offices and warehouses and we reimagined them as the homes of Herr Muller and his cohort.