Istaymute is a "Pop Trash Art" project by Sébastien Larochelle. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, he was surrounded by the iconographic images of popular culture, both human and material: audio tapes, vinyls, cinema, music and videos. It is from these emblematic figures that he is drawing inspiration for his new series.

To contrast with how clean and perfect Pop Art is usually depicted, Sebastien puts these images in a world where they are destined to be abandoned and damaged, where oxidation, deterioration and even graffiti have affected them. The wearing and transformation caused by the passage of time are themes that have always fascinated Sébastien Larochelle.

The name chosen for this series, like a tag for a graffiti artist, is Istaymute. This name has multiple meanings; it serves to distinguish the two styles created by the artist, and it is inspired by the record company Mute Records which represents Depeche Mode, a cult music group from the 80s and 90s, that Sebastien is a big fan of. Also, since the works speak for themselves, the artist remains mute.