Opening of the Rock’n’roll Guérilla exhibition

François Guillemot, known as FanXoa, was still a student at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris when he founded Bérurier Noir in 1983 with Laurent Katrakazos, known as Loran. He was the one who shaped the visual aspect of their early concerts: stage backdrops painted on butcher shop awning fabric, masks, costumes, flags… All of this was inspired by Bazooka, Fassbinder, San Antonio, and Agit-Prop: rock ’n’ roll and guerrilla tactics spread and fueled each other.

From this period, FanXoa has preserved numerous archives (deposited at the BnF in 2021), and he continues to create paintings and drawings that channel the original, rebellious energy of punk. Blending fan art, Bérurier Noir-inspired reminiscences, and narrative figuration, his graphic works celebrate inspiring figures—often women—who revolutionized rock: Patti Smith, The Slits, Debbie Harry, Siouxsie Sioux, Rebeka Warrior, Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex, and The Clash. These visual references resonate with the Bérurier Noir’s aesthetic journey and form a collective portrait of several generations of rebels.

Conceived in close collaboration with FanXoa, this deeply personal exhibition reveals expressions of admiration—a wonderful way to remain true to the ideals of one’s youth. The iconographic juxtapositions, collages, and textual collisions bring to life the emotional and rebellious upheaval that the Bérurier Noir keep igniting far beyond their own era.