Biography
Born in 1974 and originally from Limoux, in the Aude département, James Colomina speaks with the lilting accent of southern France. Highly sensitive by nature and deeply concerned with issues such as consumerism, mass manipulation, the oppression of children, racism, poverty, the plight of migrants, and urban pollution, he turned to street art as a way of rising up against stupidity and cruelty.
By creating characters that embody the irony of the human condition, James Colomina seeks to challenge politicians, question and provoke his fellow human beings—and even shock them—in order to spark debate and reactions. Both victims and whistleblowers, symbols of a humanity in need of protection, his sculptures are made from casts of adult or child bodies. The artist pours a pigment-infused medical-grade resin into the resulting moulds. James Colomina’s choice of resin stems from his former profession as a dental technician, which he abandoned after sustaining an injury. Having experimented with white, black, pink, fluorescent green, blue, and bright yellow, the artist ultimately chose scarlet red. This vivid colour gives his works excellent visibility and is emotionally intense, evoking blood and violence, but also love, as suggested by the symbol of the red heart.
James Colomina has exhibited his work in numerous cities, including Toulouse, Cannes, Paris, Monaco, London, Miami, and New York. Like many internationally renowned street artists, James is self-taught, yet his work has nothing to envy in terms of quality when compared with that of artists trained in academic institutions. His artistic approach is the antithesis of an opportunistic, commercial practice. A humanist at heart, this rising star of the street-art world owes the meteoric rise of his career to his work, talent, and courage.
In public spaces, James Colomina usually installs his sculptures “illegally”—that is, without seeking permission—in keeping with the purest tradition of street art. In Le Locle, however, his sculptures were installed with the approval of the authorities and the property owners concerned, in accordance with the exomuseum charter. In 2019, when the artist visited Le Locle, municipal councillor Miguel Perez, then mayor of the town, attended the installation of the works. From his perspective, he saw these scarlet silhouettes as “a wink, a lovely reminder of the campaign led by the authorities to divert traffic around Le Locle and ease congestion in its streets.
By creating characters that embody the irony of the human condition, James Colomina seeks to challenge politicians, question and provoke his fellow human beings—and even shock them—in order to spark debate and reactions. Both victims and whistleblowers, symbols of a humanity in need of protection, his sculptures are made from casts of adult or child bodies. The artist pours a pigment-infused medical-grade resin into the resulting moulds. James Colomina’s choice of resin stems from his former profession as a dental technician, which he abandoned after sustaining an injury. Having experimented with white, black, pink, fluorescent green, blue, and bright yellow, the artist ultimately chose scarlet red. This vivid colour gives his works excellent visibility and is emotionally intense, evoking blood and violence, but also love, as suggested by the symbol of the red heart.
James Colomina has exhibited his work in numerous cities, including Toulouse, Cannes, Paris, Monaco, London, Miami, and New York. Like many internationally renowned street artists, James is self-taught, yet his work has nothing to envy in terms of quality when compared with that of artists trained in academic institutions. His artistic approach is the antithesis of an opportunistic, commercial practice. A humanist at heart, this rising star of the street-art world owes the meteoric rise of his career to his work, talent, and courage.
In public spaces, James Colomina usually installs his sculptures “illegally”—that is, without seeking permission—in keeping with the purest tradition of street art. In Le Locle, however, his sculptures were installed with the approval of the authorities and the property owners concerned, in accordance with the exomuseum charter. In 2019, when the artist visited Le Locle, municipal councillor Miguel Perez, then mayor of the town, attended the installation of the works. From his perspective, he saw these scarlet silhouettes as “a wink, a lovely reminder of the campaign led by the authorities to divert traffic around Le Locle and ease congestion in its streets.
The site contains a total of 2 artworks by James Colomina in 1 countries.
Artworks (2)
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