A New Monograph Traces a Decade of Travel for Seth Globepainter’s Imaginative Characters

A child appears to float into a vibrantly colored portal in the middle of an urban alleyway

2022, Le Mans, France. All images © Julien Malland, shared with permission

Known for filtering incisive social commentary through the lens of childhood innocence, French artist Julien Malland, a.k.a. Seth Globepainter, has spent the better part of his career capturing the hope and wonder of adolescence. His imaginative characters (previously) appear on walls from Miami to Shanghai and often emerge in places marred by difficulties, including Syrian refugee camps and the bombed streets of the Donbas region in Ukraine.

Titled Seth, On Walls, the artist’s first monograph was published in November and chronicles a decade of resilient, youthful subjects. Enveloped by color and playful optical illusions, the largely faceless figures are introspective and often turn away from the viewer to rest, play with a friend, or look toward a distant, unknown future. Many of the murals contain small, vibrant portals nestled among the gray, urban landscapes, and like the works themselves, the book takes this optimistic approach to offer “a delicate reading of the world in which imagination becomes the cure for all ills.”

Seth, On Walls will be released to U.S. readers in September. Pre-order your copy now, and follow the artist’s latest projects on Instagram.

A mural of a child wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and backpack rests on the ground with its face in what appears as a jumble of colorful blocks

“Maurice” (2016), Port Luis

An open book spread shows give images of murals with children on curled up on walls

Two children with their backs turned appear to use barbed wire for a game of telephone in a mural against a bright blue wall

2019, Little Haiti, Miami

An open book spread with two images, on the left two children look out over water in a mural, on the right, a child in a mural appears to sleep in front of water