Arts preview: artist hRLck's Empire of Dirt shows his pirate instincts

EMPIRE OF DIRT
Agnès b.’s Librairie Galerie

A descendant of pirates, Cyril Buet (alias hRLck) is certain that he has the same rebellious blood running through his veins. The French street artist — whose show at Agnès b.'s Librairie Galerie uses mixed-media pieces involving canvases, metal trays, skateboards and a light box — doesn't always buy the materials.

hRLck uses everything from spray cans to pastels and markers to create his colourful works, which are often layered with text, codes, and symbols.

While the number stickers are collected surreptitiously from boxes in grocery stores, the giant metal plates, which he mentions with enthusiasm, are stolen from the street during late-night trips with his wife.

"It's very exciting to work on the metal trays, not only because I stole them," hRLck says.

"It's interesting drawing inside a circle, because you have to generate energy in a different manner and use different techniques. It's easier to form a good composition in a square. Sometimes, I had to walk around the metal trays and turn them around to check if I could view the composition in the same way."