AP Television
Paris, France - 13 January 2016
1. Various of poster at Combo exhibition
2. Mid of the poster with text reading (French) "When I was a child there were no Arabs, blacks, gays, Jews, or Christians… only buddies"
3. Combo, street artist, walking through exhibition
4. Close of a poster's detail
5. SOUNDBITE (French), Combo, street artist :
"This is made with posters I saved. So it's posters from concerts etc. I put them on the other side and then I can paint on it. So it gives this slightly cracked look, a wall look. And it's simple, it's just acrylic paint, some stencils and so on. It's a lot of different things, that's why my name is Combo", zoom in to paint
6. Close of poster
7. Tilt up from words reading "Charlie Hebdo: Love is stronger than hate" to a painting of Muslim and Jew kissing
8. Various of Combo re-touching his poster
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Combo, street artist :
"This poster is important because it's a bit like what Charlie (Hebdo) was doing. In the sense that they tried to have fun, and say that we all are the same. It's a kind of message about freedom. And when I say (write) 'Love is blind and religion can blind us' I'm not saying religions are blinding us, but unfortunately it can happen."
10. Pan to "Love is blind and religion can blind us" poster
11. Mid of three posters showing Christian, Jew and Muslim brandishing religious objects in the style of Star Wars light sabres
12. Tilt down of Christian poster reading (English) "Holy Wars. Jesus first Jedi. Juda first Sith."
13. Mid of Jewish poster reading (English) "Return of the Jewdi"
14. Mid of Elisabeth Dahan, visitor, looking at posters
15. SOUNDBITE (French) Elisabeth Dahan, visitor :
"This young man has an incredible take on the attacks (on Charlie Hebdo office in January 2015). He has such a good insight in how he analyses it. And even in his drawing and in the text he chooses. What great finesse, what a great intelligence."
16. Various of exhibition
17. Various of Remy Pradier, visitor, looking at posters
18. SOUNDBITE (French) Remy Pradier, visitor :
"It's obviously useful (this exhibition), and it's obvious that we have to bring back peace in them (religions). We are having a difficult time and so putting those three religions face to face is really important, it brings back some peace."
19. Close of a poster reading (French) "To live happy, live hidden" Happy has been crossed out and the word "Hebrew" written in red above it
20. Various of exhibition
21. Poster reading (French) "The habit don't make a monk and the beard doesn't make an imam."
22. SOUNDBITE (French) Combo, street artist:
"What it really means to me is just to remember a message that has always existed and that people have been living together for years and years. Back in the day, we were not used to talking about Muslims or Jews. We used to talk about Arab people maybe. So it's just a reminder that actually we have always been living together. And unfortunately nowadays in the media we say 'French Muslims, French Jew' but we have forgotten that they are French first. So there is a problem in the statement."
23. Various of poster reading (Engish) "Coexist, coexist, coexist, coexist, coexist"
24. Various of poster reading Coexist using religious symbols as letters
LEADIN:
A French street artist of Arab descent is tackling the thorny topic of religion.
Combo is displaying more than 30 posters in a new exhibition called 'Coexist' at the Arab World Institute in Paris.
These posters would normally be gracing the streets of the French capital.
But a new exhibition has brought them together to be viewed by Paris's gallery goers.
The man behind the work is known only by the name 'Combo'.
And he uses a number of materials to create his art.
"This is made with posters I saved. So it's posters from concerts etc. I put them on the other side and then I can paint on it. So it gives this slightly cracked look, a wall look. And it's simple, it's just acrylic paint, some stencils and so on. It's a lot of different things, that's why my name is Combo," he says.
The technique may be simple but the message is not.
The image of an Arab and a Jewish man locked in a kiss will be deeply controversial for many.
And the slogan 'Love is blind and religion can blind us' could also stir up a reaction in people of faith.
Combo has taken inspiration from a magazine well known for its willingness to take risks.
"This poster is important because it's a bit like what Charlie (Hebdo) was doing. In the sense that they tried to have fun, and that we all are the same," he says.
"It's a kind of message about freedom. And when I say (write) 'Love is blind and religion can blind us', I'm not saying religions are blinding us, but unfortunately it can happen."
More than 30 posters adorn the walls of the Arab World Institute.
The artist has Arab heritage - his father is Lebanese and his mother Moroccan.
It's not just religion that he addresses, but he is known for his ability to provoke.
Combo has displayed pictures about nuclear power at Chernobyl and pasted censored Google pages across Hong Kong.
And Parisian gallery visitors appreciate his style.
"This young man has an incredible take on the attacks (on Charlie Hebdo office in January 2015). He has such a good insight in how he analyses it. And even in his drawing and in the text he chooses. What great finesse, what a great intelligence," says visitor Elisabeth Dahan.
Religion - and tensions between different faiths - is a current issue for France.
The deadly attack by Islamic militants on the Charlie Hebdo office, an assault on a Jewish supermarket and November's brutal killings at locations across the capital by IS-linked suspects are still fresh in the memory.
"It's obviously useful (this exhibition), and it's obvious that we have to bring back peace in them (religions). We are having a difficult time and so putting those three religions face to face is really important, it brings back some peace," says Remy Pradier, a gallery visitor.
And that is what Combo is trying to achieve with his drawings.
But he faces opposition, sometimes of a violent nature.
He says he was attacked by a group of men last year who badly beat him as he pasted a 'Coexist' poster onto a wall.
But Combo says attackers come from every relgious background.
And they won't silence his message of religious unity.
"It's just a reminder that actually we have always been living together. And unfortunately nowadays in the media we say 'French Muslims, French Jew' but we have forgotten that they are French first. So there is a problem in the statement," he says.
The exhibition runs until 6 March.
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