shuck one

Shuck One is a first-generation activist of the French graffiti scene.

Over more than thirty years of career, he gradually transitioned from walls to canvas. His striking line is the product of an artistic universe driven by social engagement and the pursuit of emancipation. His work offers an uncompromising reflection on the struggles of our contemporary world, with projects now held in both public and private collections in France and around the globe.

Born in Pointe-à-Pitre in 1970, Shuck One discovered graffiti in the early 1980s through pro-independence wall slogans in the French Caribbean. Upon arriving in Paris in 1984, he dove into the hip-hop movement and quickly stood out for the power of his tags, made in the underground arteries of the metro. During this intensely creative period, he founded the collective Basalt and helped spread hip-hop culture beyond the underground scene

In 1995, Shuck One crossed another frontier by moving gradually from walls to canvas, inventing what he called “Graffic Artism”—a form of canvas work that retains the raw energy of the street.

He follows a prolific and committed body of work, marked by the rhythmic vibrations of Afro-descendant and contemporary music. Deeply rooted in philosophy and the history of struggles against inequality and driven by a desire to highlight the darker chapters of French history, Shuck One creates art that engages directly with the challenges and hopes of a multicultural France. His canvases confront themes such as critiques of individualism, the legacy of slavery, and the awakening of ecological consciousness—most notably seen in his monumental work Trans-Mission to Urban Ecology presented at La Fondation Thétis–Arsenale Nord during the 2019 Venice Biennale, where he gave new life to reclaimed materials.

Since 1994, his works have been in public and private collections, including the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, the City of Strasbourg, and the French Ministry for Overseas Territories.

In 2007, Shuck One created a piece for the Ministry of Culture: an installation retracing the story behind the creation of his works, displayed inside the artist’s studio.

For the opening of the Mémorial ACTe Museum in 2015, Shuck One created a monumental and permanent installation tracing Louis Delgrès and Jean Ignace's journey to freedom.

Then, in 2019, a monumental canvas by Shuck One became part of the Jin Rui Group-Hangzhou collection in China.

Currently, and until June 30, 2025, Shuck One is featured at the Centre Pompidou in Paris with a major installation as part of the Paris Noir exhibition.

N. Treiber