Pascal Vailler (Le Bateleur)

Pascal Vailler dit Le Bateleur (1961 - 1996) It was at the age of fifteen that Le Bateleur took his name: “when I question the tarots, when I ask them what my place in the universe is, I systematically find the Bateleur ... Since it is intended for me, I keep it ”. The Bateleur had a sacred destiny, and it is not certain that the tarots predicted that at the age of 33 he would enjoy a certain notoriety as a painter and stencil artist. He was born in Ménilmontant, rue de la Mare, at dawn on August 14, 1961. He was 3 years old, and 4 brothers and sisters when his mother disappeared. Her father, a gas station attendant in a garage, was unable, or was not able, to take care of his children. At 3 years old, Le Bateleur found himself in the street. He wanted to be a painter (he had been drawing since the age of 6): he was trained as a cook! When he came of age, at 18, he left the home with a bag, his cook's CAP, and 7,000 francs in his pocket. He has become a thief and a drug addict. He served a total of three years in prison! “I was a total wreck”, admits the Bateleur with a lot of frankness ... “One day, I had reached the ultimate limit, I had my dose of heroin and I was determined to end it ... when I met a woman. She wanted a child ... I decided to take detoxification, very painful ... since then, I no longer touch hard drugs; that disgusts me ”! Le Bateleur bought a bar in the south; he traveled, and lived in the West Indies. Since his return to France, he bombs. Installed in the artistic space of the rue des Cascades - a former factory occupied by artists - Le Bateleur spends his time painting and making stencils. Le Bateleur has a collection of nearly 80 different models of stencils, where characters as different as Charlie Chaplin, Einstein, Zapata, the Buddha, a little girl, an African dancer, Isis ... DASS spends up to 35 or 40 hours cutting the die out of a stencil! His stencils are accompanied by captions that underline his message.