His artistic journey began along the train tracks in Marseille in the late ’90s with graffiti. During his adolescence, he spent his summers in California, where he discovered chollo writing (calligraphy used by Mexican gangs) through the work of Chaz Bojorquez, a reference in the field. From then on, Sowat focused on mastering this style until he developed his own language.

From Marseille to Paris, for over twenty years, Sowat has carried out numerous in situ interventions—whether legal or not—surrounded by members of his crew, Da Mental Vaporz. With his crew, he traveled across France, Europe, and the globe to create monumental murals and exhibitions. Recently, he has been collaborating with Lek, a major figure in the Parisian graffiti scene, on projects that involve archaeology, painting, ephemeral installations, and experimental films.

It was through this collaboration with Lek that Sowat gained recognition among the broader public interested in graffiti, stemming from their shared passion for urban exploration. In 2011, they initiated the « Mausoleum » project. The following year, in response to an invitation from Jean de Loisy, Lek & Sowat took over the Palais de Tokyo to replicate their creative process by appropriating the building’s « Entrails. » With the help of Dem189 and curator Hugo Vitrani, they launched the Lasco Project, the first official urban art program of the art center, inviting over fifty essential artists from this burgeoning scene to work with them in the institution’s most unusual locations.

It was within the context of these interventions that Sowat & Lek realized the « Tracés Directs » project with Jacques Villeglé and around twenty major French graffiti artists. On canvas or paper, Sowat’s calligraphic research, executed with bamboo or spray paint, continues to unfold. Sometimes legible, sometimes abstract, painted with energy or meticulously applied, the lines Sowat traces on canvas serve as connections between pure tagging—writing—and traditional calligraphy, between the raw world of abandoned buildings and classical painting, between the energy of graffiti, often necessary for in situ work, and the calm and patience required for studio work.