One Day in Paris... Street Artist Yaseen Khan

After lunch at Les Deux Magots we strolled along the pavement to the sounds of a jazz group and 200m along we met with Yaseen Khan.

I noticed him some distance away and took a photo using my iPhone, trying to be discreet, but the image is astonishing. Even from a 200m I could feel his eyes looking straight back at me in quite a disconcerting way.

I began to look at his art displayed on the railings firstly trying to ascertain as to whether they were prints or original but regardless I was transfixed. I wanted to find out more and despite his apparent aloofness I asked if he spoke English - ‘only if you force me to’.

‘Remove your sunglasses’ were his next words. I apologised profusely. He commented on my eyes and moved back to the man he was selling his paintings to. I returned to the railings.

The next I knew Yaseen Khan was over my shoulder ‘Don’t buy one, walk away, it is troubling you too much’. It was! I was trying to translate the French, look at the images and decide which one I would want to have in my home.

Then we had a discussion as to which one I would buy. I wanted to interview him, to dig into my handbag and pull out my ‘Zoom’ recorder that I had brought with me and spend an afternoon sat on the pavement in Paris learning about his life.

How long had he worn his much loved white linen jacket that had a pocket hanging on for dear life as the pens clung to the top whilst taking in the air where fabric would have once been? Did his tie have any significance? It was the same tie in all the publicity material on the railings, why wear it? How did he choose his poems? Why Paris? Why not stay in Mumbai?

His huge mop of brilliant white hair bobbed around each time he spoke. His expressive gestures becoming warmer the longer he spent chatting with us. We, Hannah and I, explained that we had perhaps taken a bit too long as the ‘boys’ had now gone and bought an ice cream!

‘Come, let’s go to them’. As Mr Khan wrapped up our purchases he led us across to Gav and Chris. Their expressions changing as we got closer. Always keeping a watchful eye on his work on the railings Mr Khan signed our paintings and wrapped them in brown paper.

He asked me to write on the paper: Duy anh nhan duc - which, through Google translate, is Vietnamese for His only virtue and then I have written ‘pois plume’ but to me it doesn’t make sense unless it is supposed to mean ‘from the pen’. Any ideas?