Show the face of the La Chapelle neighborhood as it undergoes transformations.

The exhibition Barbès-La Chapelle-Stalingrad: Time of Facades juxtaposes vintage and modern-day photographs taken from the same angles. This confrontation reveals both the transformations and the permanence of a building, allowing the inhabitants to discover the history of their neighborhood.

The location chosen by City Hall to display these photographs is the Saint-Ange bridge, which spans the tracks of the Gare du Nord train station. In this corner of the 18th arrondissement, wedged between the train station and the elevated metro line, traffic is dense, yet passersby do not stop.

To craft a strong visual appeal, we have chosen electrifying colors to create a disruption in this very tough urban universe. The combination of the characters and layout reinforces this visual tension. The layout is simple, almost elementary and is supported by a typeface with an impartial appearance, which at the same time reveals irregularities in its design – almost as if it too were changing. Motorists are intrigued, passersby take the time to look and the color of the signs is even visible from the subway.