Presented as part of Traversées Africaines, the exhibition Vie Urbaine by Diafrel invites us into an artistic universe where ecological consciousness and creative innovation merge into a single, coherent vision. With this new body of work, the artist deepens his exploration of upcycling as a poetic and political practice, offering a raw and moving reflection on urban existence.

Urban Life, Reimagined Through Kraft

Diafrel’s artistic practice is rooted in the transformation of discarded materials into powerful visual statements. Rusted metal, abandoned plastic, torn fabric ,these everyday remnants become the raw material for a reinvention of meaning. For Vie Urbaine, the artist turns exclusively to reclaimed kraft paper,a modest material often relegated to packaging and breathes new life into it.

In Diafrel’s hands, it is no longer paper, but memory , textured, fragile, resilient. He draws a powerful parallel between the life of materials and the lives of those who inhabit our urban spaces.

From Waste to Witness

For Diafrel, the use of recycled material is more than an ecological gesture,it is an aesthetic and ethical stance. He elevates the rejected and the forgotten, crafting artworks that question the cycle of overconsumption, obsolescence, and environmental neglect. Each piece is a visual manifesto: to reuse is to resist; to transform is to remember.

A Metaphor for Our Time

Diafrel’s minimalist palette and sculptural textures push kraft beyond its utilitarian origins. What was once considered ephemeral becomes lasting. What was mundane becomes sublime. By choosing a material that is both universal and overlooked, Diafrel reminds us that beauty, meaning, and dignity often lie just beneath the surface waiting to be seen, felt, and reimagined.

Vie Urbaine challenges us to look again at the world around us and to reconsider our relationship with what we consume and what we discard. Through a subtle dialogue between abstraction and figuration, Diafrel transforms the ordinary into the profound, and the forgotten into the unforgettable.

Organized by Artfrofest in partnership with Claje, Ville de Paris, and the Town Hall of Paris 12e, as part of Traversées Africaines 2025.