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Bored Panda

Raquel Teixeira

EXPLAINED: 35 damaged sidewalks transformed into captivating art by dijon based artist - The Real Truth

Dijon France Bored Panda

Fanny Pitoiset is a mosaicist who fills potholes in Dijon, France, with beautiful mosaics that brighten every passerby's day.

Since 2023, Fanny has been looking for the missing pieces of concrete around her city and restoring them with colorful mosaics. While you can see that the "political" dimension is present in her creations, her primary approach remains decorating her city: “sharing, gifting, and injecting fantasy, poetry, and color into everyday life where there used to be grey”, as she shared with Bored Panda.

Growing up in an artistic household, with a sculptor dad and a ceramist mom, Fanny always felt pulled to explore drawing, sculpting, and decorating. Although her artistic passion had always been there, her demanding job as an economics teacher left little time to explore it, until the pandemic provided the time to reignite it.

Thanks to her efforts over the last 3 years, 35 mosaics have bloomed in Dijon. And you can now dive into the mosaicist’s creative process, from choosing the pothole and selecting the elements and colors to preparing the mosaic and completing its final installation.

More info: Instagram | maps.app.goo.gl | Facebook

#1 Ours Blanc

Location: 6 Pl. François Rude, 21000 Dijon, France

As a child, Fanny had already found what defined her style: a mix of geometric patterns and colorful figurative work, often floral, always trimmed with a black-and-white border.

#2 Cygne Et Capucines

Location: 32 Rue Jeannin, 21000 Dijon, France

#3 Hortensia

Location: Rue du Docteur Maret, 21000 Dijon, France

Her sidewalk mosaics, or flacking, didn't begin until years later, inspired by fellow French artist Ememem. The true turning point came when she spotted a small pothole right at the foot of her building, and together with her eight-year-old daughter, she planted her first mosaic flower inside it. That moment birthed her signature slogan: "May flowers grow on asphalt!" (in French, "Que les fleurs poussent sur le goudron!").

#4 Renard Digitale Godrans

Location: 14 Rue des Godrans, 21000 Dijon, France

#5 Chat Sorcière Zola

Location: Place Émile Zola, 21000 Dijon, France

Before she knew it, the press was calling her a street artist acting in broad daylight, and admiring her work. But creating these public installations required meticulous care, starting with the pothole itself. As Fanny shared with us: “It needs to be deep and clearly defined, so the mosaic sits securely without pieces sticking out and being damaged by scooters, bikes, or strollers.” Beyond practicality, the location needs to inspire her. Fanny looks for places that hold a personal or historical meaning: in front of her parents’ former oriental rug & décor shop, outside her favorite bars, along routes she often walks by, or in places with a story of their own.

#6 Fleurs Champignon

Location: 6 Bis Rue Musette, 21000 Dijon, France

#7 Crocus

Location: Rue du Chapeau Rouge, 21000 Dijon, France

Once she chooses the canvas, she turns to her preferred medium: durable, non-slip ceramics, which she often hunts down at an open-air dump (landfill) next to a former ceramics factory. She then pieces the materials together, adding unexpected details: small Chinese marbles found at flea markets or from companies' donations, fragments of patterned plates, metal pendants, beads, and other treasures, giving each creation its own unique character.

#8 Rouges Gorges Rude

Location: Rue François Rude, 21000 Dijon, France

#9 Fleurs Bleues

Location: 8 Rue du Palais, 21000 Dijon, France

The final step, the installation, leaves her at the mercy of the weather. She shared her experience: “It can't be too cold or too hot, and it must stay dry for two consecutive days. That creates a seasonal rhythm to my work.

#10 Blaireau Airelles

Location: 78 Rue Monge, 21000 Dijon, France

#11 Petit Teckel Et Pissenlit

Location: Rue Musette, 21000 Dijon, France

But at the end of the day, why would someone keep dedicating time and allocating creative energy to mending the city's cracks? As the artist shared with Bored Panda: “Nothing but pure joy! It's a wonderful experience that brings me into contact with so many people. From building friendships to exchanging with fellow artists like La Fée des Trottoirs in Montreal, to meeting passionate people who want to start making mosaics themselves and whom I gladly advise... I feel nourished by all these interactions.”

#12 Iris

Location: 8 Rue de la Chouette, 21000 Dijon, France

#13 Pavot

Location: 5 Rue Chaudronnerie, 21000 Dijon, France

She further added: “What touches me most are the spontaneous reactions of passersby during installation. Homeless individuals whose sidewalk spots I decorate are among the most enthusiastic. Children, and especially grandmothers telling me they play treasure hunt games with their grandchildren, looking for my mosaics... That is truly priceless!”

#14 Serpent Lys Rouge

Location: 21 Rue de la Préfecture, 21000 Dijon, France

#15 Violettes Des Bois

Location: 18 Rue Bannelier, 21000 Dijon, France

Next time you are in Dijon, wander the city and see if you can spot all of Fanny Pitoiset's mosaics. Be up-to-date about their locations through Fanny’s Instagram.

Besides her other artistic work, she began making papier-mâché animal mask heads and posting staged, humorously captioned photos of them on social media, which you can explore on her Instagram.