Man dubbed ‘French Banksy’ creates apocalyptic art

The Toulouse artist, who goes by the name of Dran and is said to be in his early 40s, posts his artwork, as well as anonymised photos of himself painting, on his Instagram account, Dran_Art.

His work - which appears everywhere from walls to newspaper print to street furniture, as well as on canvas and paper as normal paintings - offers tongue-in-cheek, often-depressive takes on the issues of today’s world.

This has helped him draw comparisons with the British artist Banksy - who often references similar concerns - including loneliness in the digital age, the effects of pollution, violence, authoritarian government and law enforcement, the loss of childhood innocence, money woes, and more.

Most recently, the artist has posted a series of international creations featuring “England”, “Barcelona” and “France”, which satirise the much-loved Tintin comics, by Belgian comic book cartoonist Hergé.

The “England” painting shows Tintin embroiled in a fight with a thug-like football hooligan; the “Barcelona” shot shows a worse-for-wear Tintin looking dazed in a graffiti-and-rubbish-strewn back alley; while the “France” piece shows Tintin carrying luggage, peering up at a graffiti-covered train station announcement board, which reads “No trains today due to strikes”.

The artist, who is himself largely anonymous, is a clear admirer of Banksy’s work, having posted photos of the latter’s exhibitions and some of his paintings in recent weeks.

Dran’s own work has already been the subject of several exhibitions, and, with over 11,000 followers on Instagram, has a cult following of fans who support his every post.