Molecular Vision

Mural specialist Florence Blanchard blends her scientif ic training with a background in graf fiti to create a unique style of colour ful, abstract art.

- Nick Carson

Spraying graffiti on the city streets and studying for a PhD in molecular biology may, on the face of it, seem worlds apart. And for Florence Blanchard, those two stages of her life – in France and New York respectively – were also separared by thousands of miles of sea. But they are also jointly responsible for inspiring and influencing her artistic career.

The leap between graffiti and mural painting may not seem huge, but while Blanchard’s early urban work may have informed her creative process and love of art, it was arguably her scientific research that shaped her style.

Inspired by what she saw under the microscope in the lab, Blanchard has brought her colourful, abstract shapes, forms and patterns to all manner of creative applications, ranging from huge external murals on the sides of buildings to gallery installations, prints, illustrations sculptures and more, as well as exhibiting in Sheffield, London, Berlin, New York and Chicago, and as far afield as Japan.

Following her engaging talk at OFFSET Sheffield, we caught up with Blanchard to discuss her unique background, her style and craft, and the ins and outs of her creative processs...

You started your creative career as a graffiti writer. Does this give you a particular angle on creating artwork – murals in particular?

Graffiti was a great way for me to learn how to paint. From early on I had to think of visuals with limited colour palettes, budget, space and time constraints, which taught me many transferable skills that I am still using in my work today.

Also, I spent the first 15 years not thinking graffiti was a career – which allowed me to evolve organically, as opposed to having the pressure of making a living from it.

Do you miss graffiti at all?