Tag Archives: autocracy

12×12 festival-Paris

Posted on December 6, 2025 | Leave a comment

I have a new public installation at the intersection of Reuilly-Diderot in the 12eme Arr. of Paris. This particular one is part of the 12×12 festival which is organized by Le 100ecs at 100 Rue Charenton. The space was made available by Paris Habitat. The installation will run through December 17th and the illumination of the piece is from 16h30-1h every night. Below is a bit about my intentions…

“The Fire Is The Fulcrum”

Smoldering beneath the surface of today’s media landscape are crises of enormous consequence. Hardly a day passes without reminders of an accelerating climate emergency, a mental health epidemic, growing housing insecurity, and an ever-widening, increasingly untenable wealth gap. Internationally, wars in Gaza and Ukraine continue to ravage civilian life; the U.S. is abandoning it’s allies in service of Russia, and democratic institutions are being eroded in multiple regions. At the same time, technology introduces new pressures—A.I. framed as a replacement for human intellect and culture, surveillance capitalism expands unchecked, while social media has become both a wellspring of disinformation in the public sphere and a source of profound psychological damage for younger generations. Meanwhile, pervasive reports of sexual and physical violence against women remind us that some of the most urgent crises have endured throughout history.

These are not isolated sparks, but embers gathering heat. Left unresolved, they edge toward a larger conflagration. The Fire Is The Fulcrum suggests that the moment we stop ignoring the alarms and seeing the flames may also be the moment of pivot—when crisis becomes catalyst, and the fire becomes the point at which we begin to restore balance rather than lose it.

There will be a vernissage for the festival Saturday Dec. 6th at 19h30 at 100 Rue Charenton, Paris details HERE:

à bientôt

Eddie

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Posted in eddie colla, exhibit, Migrate, street art

Tagged 100ecs, 12x12, activist street art, art, autocracy, behind the scenes, buy street art online, collage, discover paris street art, eddie colla, eddiecola, eddiecolla, eddycola, eddycolla, emerging street artists, festival12x12, installation, International street art, le 100 ecs, les saint oublies, original street art for sale, painting, Paris 12, Paris 12eme, paris habitat, Paris street artist, parishabitat, Paste up street art, stencil street art, street art articles, street art blog, street art cities, street art cities emerging street artists, street art europe, street art france, street art mural, Street art paris, street art update, the forgotten saints, trump street art, urban art, urban art prints for sale, urban artist, urban contemporary art, urban contemporary art for sale

Songs that define us PODcast

Posted on August 20, 2025 | Leave a comment

A few months ago I got an email from Jason Perlman who is the Political director of the Ohio AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO is the largest federation of Labor unions in the United States and represents 15 million American workers.

Jason was working on a podcast about music called “Songs that define us”. He described it like this: “It is my feeling that those of use who care and fight for a just society have been influenced at some point in our life by a song. A song that we spoke to us. A song that made us investigate. A song that spoke to our sense of fairness and equality. We will use that song to springboard into conversation with artists of all mediums about how they use their art to tell stories, move the country and earth forward and provide a voice to those who feel voiceless.”

Anytime I have a chance to work with a group that stands up for workers and strives for equity in the workplace, I am happy to participate. In this episode we talk about the Black Sabbath song “War Pigs” which had a profound effect little adolescent Colla.

I really enjoyed the conversation with Jason. Below is the Podcast:

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Posted in eddie colla, interview

Tagged activist street art, AFL-CIO, Amazon union efforts, Anti-union legislation, art, autocracy, Collective bargaining, Corporate profits vs worker pay, Economic inequality, Eddie, eddie colla, Election2024, fair wages, Fight for $15, Gig economy and workers’ rights, justice, Labor law reform, Labor movement history, Labor rights activism, labor unions, Labor unions in the U.S., Living wage, Minimum wage laws, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), political street art, Right to unionize, Starbucks unionization, street art europe, street art france, street art mural, streetart, Tours France, Trump, trump street art, U.S. income inequality, UAW strike 2025, Union busting tactics, Union organizing, union strong, USA, Wage stagnation, Wealth gap in America, Wealth redistribution, workers rights, Workers' rights, Working-class struggles, Workplace protections

No Kings Day Paris

Posted on June 17, 2025 | Leave a comment

Last Saturday, at Place Bastille, a location symbolic for the overthrow of despotism during the French revolution, a couple thousand folks gathered to protest the Trump administration. The crowd was primarily American ex-pats living in France, but there were a decent amount of Parisiens there as well. Yes, some 6000 miles from my former home in California, on a different continent, the disgust for this incompetent, racist and misogynistic regime was palpable.

It was June 14th and Mr. Trump had decided to use the men and women of the armed forces to throw himself a vanity birthday party. A garish affair so distasteful to most Americans that there were protests in over 2,000 cities. The protests proved far more impressive than the parade itself, which in true Trump fashion, underdelivered. In his narcissistic mind, little Donny wanted an impressive theatrical presentation that would rival the Bastille Day celebrations he witnessed in Paris in 2018. However Trump and his entire administration lack 2 things that would make that possible. First off, the administration does not value expertise in any field. Secondly, the entire administration is lazy as fuck. With no expertise and no work ethic; the parade was a half-assed, c level, embarrassment.

Sitting like Jabba the Hut, next to a wife who visibly detests him, and surrounded by a bunch of weak, nut-swinging sycophants, the president fell asleep during his own fireworks show. For the rest of us, we had an amazing day meeting people, raising our voices and exercising our freedoms in a country where those freedoms are still held sacred. The ex-pats in Paris spoke with the same refrain: “I am so happy I am not still in the U.S., but I am frightened for my friends and family that remain there”.

FUCK ICE, TRUMP, VANCE, RUBIO and the rest. Their aspirations, as French history would prove, will not meet a pleasant conclusion.

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Posted in eddie colla, Migrate

Tagged autocracy, Bastille, Donald trump, ex-pats, israel, news, no kings day, parade, paris, Pas de rois, politics, regime, Trump, trump's birthday

Metaphor

Posted on November 27, 2024 | Leave a comment

When I made this mural I knew it would be defaced. Either by supporters or detractors of Trump. That’s what divisive people do; they create an environment of polarization that results often in destruction. They create a world that is a zero sum game in which cooperation and tolerance are viewed as weakness. They also divide incredibly diverse populations into 2 sides. Each side believing they are victims of the opposing side. However, the way this piece is deteriorating is quite fitting. A perfect metaphor for what I was trying to say. What began as a tattered distressed American flag, a flag representative of the citizenry of the country, and the stresses that are currently present for those citizens. Having 13 stripes that represent the cooperation of the original 13 colonies and 50 stars representative of the 50 “united” states. Now just a few days later, the flag is rapidly disappearing; its colors, it’s fabric, what it stands for. What’s left is a portrait of one man. This is what happens in an autocracy. The identity of a nation and its people is quickly replaced by a monolithic figure who claims authority over all of it. Unchallenged and infallible. He elevates himself to be the face of the national identity.

The progression of this piece is demonstrating exactly what is happening in the U.S. right now. The government is being stacked with loyalists and sycophants, void of any expertise or qualifications, who are lining up behind one man. It’s happening very quickly.

What’s left are these traces of a national identity, and those principles. As the stars fall, and the stripes become faint demarcations, the image that reveals itself is not of principle, or values, or a common commitment. The image is of the ego and insecurity of malignant narcissist, who wants you to believe he is the incarnation of those principles and values. He is not. Whomever defaced the mural helped me to create this synchronized metaphor for the current political moment.

Street art is always a collaboration with a place, and sometimes that collaboration creates a better more poignant work.

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Tagged activist street art, art, authoratarian, autocracy, changes, Constitution, democracy, Eddie, eddie colla, eddiecolla, election, Election2024, facisms, fresque, immigration, Le mur tours, Lemur, MAGA, metaphor, mural, political street art, street art europe, street art france, street art mural, streetart, streetart france, threat, Tours France, Trump, trump street art, trump2024, united states, USA

Wrapped in a Flag…

Posted on November 20, 2024 | Leave a comment

Le M.U.R. – Tours, France.

This Piece is titled “Wrapped in a Flag”, a reference to the quote often misattributed to Sinclair Lewis: “When Fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross”. Less than 2 weeks ago, the United States may have crossed the rubicon. The unfolding consequences will not be confined to the United States. This election will likely unravel alliances, encourage racism, affirm misogyny, aim to justify xenophobia, and discredit democracy. There will be a continuation of divisive language that aims to tear communities apart and dehumanize the ethnic, economic, gender or ideological “other”.

In the words of Churchill “The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.” Today, in the fog of technology and a post-truth world, those who hold the values of democracy and of human rights need to stand un-yieldingly to these principles. We are being tested and history will record our results. As with every challenge, this is also an opportunity.

So, as the fabric of the United States is literally being torn apart at the whim of a scowling child, now is not the time for allies to accommodate authoritarians, and now is not the time citizens to keep their heads down. It’s not the time to befriend the enemy to avoid confrontation and, despite the distracted nature of this modern world, it is important to take stock of the character of our conduct and actions.

The text on this piece says “Trump/Trompe These are not false friends. He is a false friend”

In linguistics, “false friends” are words that look or sound similar in 2 different languages but differ significantly in meaning. In this case, Trump and “Trompe”, (which in French means deceives) are not “false friends”; in my opinion, they are synonyms. The second part of the phrase is directed towards the U.S.’s allies to be aware. He is not your friend.

Thanks to the entire team at Le M.U.R. Tours for inviting me to make this mural, for giving me the space to express this freely and the support to execute it.