Leave No Trace: Philippe Echaroux, The Street Artist Who Paints With Light

PARIS — The faces appear almost like a mirage in the Amazon rainforest. Projected onto the trees, the portraits of indigenous Brazilians are sometimes crisscrossed by the sky or merged with the foliage. You can receive our Bon Vivant selection of fresh reads on international culture, food & travel directly in your inbox. Subscribe here. The 2016 “Blood Forest” project by French photographer and street artist Philippe Echaroux aimed to raise international awareness about the Surui tribe, which is a victim of massive deforestation and gold washers, who did not hesitate to violate their territory to seize deposits of precious stones. Every day, more than 300 truckloads of illegally cut timber leave the territory. Since then, Echaroux, dubbed a street artist 2.0, has organized other projections with ecological and social messages. From natural environments to city walls and glaciers, his ephemeral light installations range from Amazon Indigenous fighting to save their environment to Cubans committed to their freedom of expression. An art that leaves no trace “My ecological awareness undoubtedly stems from my passion for outdoor sports,” he says. Although Echaroux has a diploma in special education, his first passion is for outdoor activities. Between climbing and kitesurfing, the artist...