John Hamon

Born in 1982, the artist began in 2001 by pasting an identity photograph taken at eighteen — while still a high-school student — onto the walls of Paris. This simple act of posting his own face became the foundation of a conceptual practice built around promotion as artistic action, summed up by his motto: "It's the promotion that makes the artist or the zero degree of art."

His work takes the form of massive postering campaigns and spectacular projections onto monuments and cultural institutions. The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Palais de Tokyo, Palais-Royal and Bibliothèque nationale de France have all been lit up with his portrait. He regularly stages "pirate" exhibitions in prestigious cultural venues, questioning the role of museums and the artist's position in society. His image has been projected or posted across 77 cities in 33 countries.

John Hamon has published a book through Eyrolles and launched his own currency, the Hamoney, at the Achetez de l'Art gallery. His work has been covered by Paris ZigZag and Sortiraparis, and he has an English-language Wikipedia page. By subverting the codes of advertising and celebrity culture, he offers an ironic commentary on the mechanisms of fame in the art world.