Invader Street Art

Invader is a French urban artist known for his ceramic tile mosaics modelled on the pixelated art of 1970s-1980s 8-bit video games, many of which depict the titular aliens from the arcade games Space Invaders although he has also used Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros. and characters from TV shows. His creations can be seen in 79 cities over 20 countries. 

In 2006 Newcastle was invaded and a number of mosaics were installed around the city on buildings, and five were listed on the official Invader website. By January 2020, Invader's mosaics comprised 3,858 Space Invaders, over 1.5 million ceramic tiles, and he had published 24 "invasion maps”, although Paris is where most of his work can be found.

This was a bit of a joint effort by the whole Fabulous North team to find them all.

Stowell Street

At the southern end of Stowell Street right on the corner with Friar's Street.

Pink Lane

Right outside the Pink Lane Bakery.

Pink Lane - The Forth Pub

On the front of the Forth Public House.

Side

We have two here, near the Castle Keep on the front of G Scott, Gentlemen's Hairdressing.

Side - Roundabout

On the roundabout of Side and Dean Street next to Dog Leap Stairs, look above the shop on the tower of the Tyne Bridge.

Lombard Street

From the Quayside, head up Lombard Street and then look on the back of the Tyne Bridge tower.

Baltic Chambers

On the Baltic Chambers building (currently the Cat Cafe) along the Quayside inbetween the Tyne Bridge and Millennium Bridge.

Baltic Stairwell

In the stairwell of the Baltic on the second floor.

Baltic River Wall

In you stand on the Millennium Bridge and look at the Baltic, you will see this one just below the railings on the banks of the Tyne.

High Bridge Street #1

Halfway down High Bridge Street (which is between the Bigg Market and Grey Street), look out for the plaque of Lord Armstrong opposite the Duke Of Wellington and it's around the side.

High Bridge Street #2

Just a few metres from the other High Bridge Street invader, stand at the Duke Of Wellington, walk towards the Bigg Market and then turn around to face Grey Street. Look up at the side of the porch.

Bigg Market

Above the newsagents in the Bigg Market on the corner of Pudding Chare.

Westgate Road

Head past the Lit And Phil towards the Castle Keep and look for the tunnel leading to Clavering Place.

City Road

Find Holy Jesus Hospital and head under the subway. The invader is on the end of the railway viaduct.

Eldon Lane

Down the side street between Greggs and Fenwicks next to Grey's Monument. Unfortunately this invader is no longer there. (Photo credit Douglas Douglass).

Saville Row

We have been sent this one by Douglas Douglass and is appararently at the junction between Saville Row and John Dobson Street. We'll investigate and confirm.

Pilgrim Street

There used to be two on Pilgrim Street, but neither of the buildings they were positioned on exist anymore. The first was on the a pillar of the Commercial Union Building (photo credit Douglas Douglass) with the other being the Former Bank of England (photo credit Andrew Curtis) which is currently being demolished. You can see it on the far left pillar if you zoom in.

Other Sightings

Having written this up and done further research, it may be that there are a few others we have missed.

- Low Bridge Street, up the stairs next to LD Mountain Centre.

- Bigg Market, halfway down high up on the left.

- The steps walking up to The Sage Gateshead from Baltic Square.

- Gateshead Metro Station

Will need to further investigate.

What Is Invader Art?

In 2006 Newcastle was invaded and a number of mosaics were installed around the city on buildings, and five were listed on the official Invader website. By January 2020, Invader's mosaics comprised 3,858 Space Invaders, over 1.5 million ceramic tiles, and he had published 24 "invasion maps”, although Paris is where most of his work can be found.

Invader sees himself as a "hacker" of public space spreading a mosaic "virus" and is very guarded about his identity, preferring to stay anonymous. He believes that museums and galleries are no longer accessible to everyone, so installs his work at street level for ordinary people to enjoy on a daily basis. Although since he has become a desirable artist this has led to many of his works being stolen. He now looks to place them in more inaccessible locations.

Each "invasion" usually takes around two or three weeks, with the actual installations taking at least a week. The mosaics are mapped, catalogued and photographed to indicate their locations within a city; using this information, Invader then prints and distributes city "invasion maps". Smartphone users can also hunt for mosaics globally using the "FlashInvaders" app. In Montpellier, locations were chosen so that when plotted on a map, they formed an image of a giant Space Invader.

On our wander we also found similar pieces by Shadee (on Denton Chare) and one that says “FIGS” on High Bridge Street but we aren't sure who that is by.