Graffiti Artist Saype Hopes To Lift Spirits With Stunning 'New Lease Of Life' Mountaintop Artwork

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - A French graffiti artist's monumental mountaintop project aims to lift people's spirits by helping to recapture the childlike wonder at clouds drifting by.

The 16,145 square foot painting "Un nouveau souffle" (A New Lease of Life) by Guillaume Legros, better known as "Saype," 32, graces the summit of the Moléson, overlooking the region of Gruyères in canton Fribourg in the western Swiss Alps.

"I think we live in a world that induces anxiety and we need a little lightness. So I believe that the clouds are also a bit about dreams and imagination," he tells Reuters.

Using biodegradable paints made from natural pigments such as coal and chalk, the painting depicts a little boy blowing bubbles in an area known for its clouds, seeking to reflect the link between children's skygazing.

"When we were kids we were always imagining shapes in the clouds. And I believe that now is also a moment we must breathe and -- also with lightness -- relearn to create by reverie the world of tomorrow," Saype says.

Known for massive works of graffiti on grass best seen from the air, Saype recently painted 37 pairs of hands across Europe, the Middle East and Africa to spread a universal message of togetherness. The idea began in 2019 with a line of hands leading to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

But Saype does paint more than hands. He's also created landscape art to draw attention to COVID, climate change and the plight of refugees.