To promote the album "-", to be released on May 5, the British singer's record company has requested, for France, the beach art artist Jben.

The Royannais produced a huge fresco this Friday, April 21

Thanks to a high tide, the fresco remained visible for several hours. © Photo credit: Jben/Warner Music

His fiery mop of hair and his velvety voice have conquered the world. He wants to say how beautiful and fragile this world is. On May 5, the new album "-" (Subtract) by British singer Ed Sheeran will be released. Musically, "the artist is making a real return to basics, by offering more acoustic titles and a more refined aesthetic", sums up Warner Music. An aesthetic focused on nature and the sea, in particular, also accompanies the album. Hence the idea of calling on several beach art specialists around the world to stage it, in an ephemeral way, through a giant fresco.

Jben took four hours to complete the mural according to requests provided by Warner Music.

©️ Caroline Ledoux

Retained for France, the Royannais artist Jben believed to guess that three other of his

co-religionists, at least, were associated with this project. He took out his pencil, about two months ago, and his rakes, this Friday, April 21, to draw the face of Ed Sheeran on the sand of Chay beach, embellished with elements common to the other frescoes:

" This flower on the side that evokes a musical note, the symbol "_", the exact typography to write the name of the singer..."

Teamwork

In addition to the preparatory work, until the last minute, four good hours of labor under a hot, almost summery sun were necessary for Jben to create the fresco. For the occasion, he enlisted the help of two friends. Guillaume Arnault temporarily moved away from his own musical productions to assist Jben in setting his benchmarks, "in filling in the drawing too". Faced with the complexity of creating a portrait, the artist also called on Thomas Campois, painter, former copyist at the Louvres, now also from Royan. “I needed his expertise for the shading, which was very delicate. »

Simple walkers or fans attracted by the announcement made by the region of this artistic performance, many of them observed the artist at work. A particularly invested… and concerned Jben. “I was born on May 5th, the day the album was announced, and I too am a musician…” This project was made for him.