Cartographie sensible

The Marseille-based artist Stéphane Moscato has long been working at the intersection of writing, machinery and the built environment. For the 2026 Urban Art Biennale, he is presenting an installation realised using a tricycle, which he has repurposed as a writing instrument. A group of spray cans is mounted on the front of the vehicle, which are triggered in time with his movements. As Moscato pedals, words and fragments of sentences are written directly onto the road surface. Speed, trajectory and the geometry of the surface determine the shape of each individual letter. In this instance, the writing adapts to one of the old tram tracks in the district and follows it for a distance of 500 metres. The result can be read in two ways: at street level, it appears as a fragmentary, almost calligraphic trail; from a height – for example, from a footbridge, a window or a vantage point – it reveals itself as a cartographic drawing and a poetic echo. The work is ephemeral by its very nature; the lines disappear due to traffic and the weather. After more than a month, the spray-painted words have vanished, preserved in photographs and videos.