PA_404, Street art mosaic in 2nd arrondissement, France.
PA_404 is a horizontal strip of small square ceramic tiles set into mortar beneath a rough grey stone block, spelling "PA_404" in black-and-white block letters: two white characters on black, an underscore-shaped gap, then "404" in the same pixel style. A patch of green moss grows on the stone above the mosaic.
Invader, a French street artist, began installing ceramic-tile mosaics of Space Invader video-game characters in Paris in the late 1990s, and PA_404 belongs to that series. The mosaic is set into a stone wall in the 2nd arrondissement, where the tiled letters and numerals spell the code PA_404. Each piece is numbered and mapped by the artist, so the work records both a game figure and its location in the city.
The mosaic is one of Invader's "PA" series, tagged with the code PA_404 in white tiles on black, the same pixel lettering as the X. GARDA panel nearby. The code lets followers log the find on the artist's map, so the tiles work as a game piece as much as a picture.
The PA_404 strip sits low on a rough stone wall, just above the gritty grey ground, so it is best spotted by looking down rather than up. The X. GARDA panel is set in a stone wall directly above a paved street, at eye level for someone walking past. Both are small and easy to miss among the surrounding signage; scan wall bases along the street.
The mosaic sits directly above a paved street, and a small dark curved fragment rests on its top edge near the centre. The letters are built from small square ceramic tiles, white against black, in the same blocky style as the PA_404 strip nearby.
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