Finely Rendered Birds and Animals Cling to Dried Flowers in Steeven Salvat’s Wheatpastes

four bird wheatpastes cover a conical structure with a cupola on top in a lush green landscape with brick buildings on either side

All images © Steeven Salvat, shared with permission

Sprouting between windows and tucked around corners, Steeven Salvat’s wheatpastes add a dose of natural history to everyday urban life. The French artist has spent the last few years meticulously rendering gem- and mechanic-encrusted beetles and butterflies, amassing a vast insectarium that draws attention to the intersections of art, science, and history and underscores the preciousness of each creature.

During the last two years, though, Salvat has begun to consistently work outdoors and on walls, creating public pieces that capture his painstaking linework on a larger scale. Whether painted in acrylic or slathered with wheatpaste, the realistic renderings are similarly detailed and delicate, conveying the smooth fur of a field mouse or the fluffed plumage of a bird mid-flight. Many of his recent works, part of the ongoing Petite Nature project, pair renditions of oversized dried flowers with tiny creatures “to awaken awareness on the fragility of ecosystems such as grasslands and natural water points, often sacrificed in the name of urbanisation.”

In addition to the wall works, Petite Nature also features smaller drawings on paper, which will be on view in January at Le Cabinet d’Amateur in Paris. Salvat generously shares glimpses into his process on Instagram, and you can find originals, prints, and postcards in his shop.

a wheatpaste of two tiny mice clinging to sprigs of orange flowers on a yellow outdoor wall. a bicycle with a crate is in front and a woman riding a scooter is on the far left

a wheatpaste of a bird and a brown leaf on a yellow wall between two windows

left: a wheatpaste of a dead bird with two yellow flowers growing from its body. right: a wheatpaste of a bird perched a sprig of small white flowers

a painted acrylic mural of two birds perched in bright red floweres on a blue wall

a wheatpaste of a mouse resting atop a bright red flower on a black wall

left: a bird with a scissors and surrounded by red and blue string flies on a wall with a woman dressed in black passing in front. right: a bird with a scissors and surrounded by red and blue string flies on a wall

a woman in a puffy black coat touches the ornate blue and white cage of a yellow bird on a perch in a wheatpaste

a woman in white walks past a wall with a wheatpaste depicting a small reptile curled around a yellow dried flower

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