In spring 2024, Saint-Maurice welcomed a new street art mural entitled ‘Barrière’ (Barrier) by French artist Keim.

A noise barrier isn't necessarily very attractive. Except in the Glarier neighbourhood of Saint-Maurice, where the structure proudly displays a fresco in shades of blue and yellow. The artwork, covering more than 450 square metres, is part of the Open Art Museum of Art Valais Wallis, a collection of outdoor paintings to be discovered throughout the canton.

"A noise barrier prevents noise pollution, but creates another kind of pollution: visual pollution,’ says Issam Rezgui, founder of the project. The Mobility Department of the Canton of Valais therefore launched the idea of financing the beautification of the long grey-brown strip. When consulted, the municipality immediately showed interest.

The mural, created by French artist Keim, features a kingfisher, a bacchante butterfly, a fox, a heron and plants that could easily be found on the banks of the Rhône. ‘The idea was to echo the obstacle that walls represent for fauna and flora,’ continues Issam Rezgui, curator of the project. ‘More broadly, roads are part of this. It's not for nothing that we dig wildlife passages, as in Bois-Noir. The theme of water is addressed by the predominance of blue to emphasise the proximity of the river and the importance of this resource."

The sixty or so works exhibited as part of the Open Art Museum deal with the theme of water. However, each location approaches the subject from a different angle. In Agaune, the focus is on movement. ‘Contrary to preconceptions, beneath its appearance as a large village lies a town that is truly dynamic,’ notes the project curator. ‘For example, you only have to walk around at lunchtime during the week to see lots of students.’ Saint-Maurice is also a historic crossing point: a dimension that also evokes movement. It is therefore no coincidence that bright colours were chosen for the mural (...).

Text: Bertrand Girard ("Agaune Info" n. 71 june 2024)

It was created as part of the largest open-air urban art museum, joining its cantonal artistic journey on the theme of water and the hundred or so murals that can be freely explored throughout the Valais region. This unique museum is accompanied by the free mobile app ‘Art Valais’, an interactive pocket guide that allows you to discover all the secrets of the work: its geolocation, its authors and a micro-documentary revealing the history of its creation. The app can be downloaded on iOS or Android.