We bet you know « Arbitraire », this artistic collective from Lyon, who could embody alone the return of the ambition in the french micro-edition! Renaud Thomas (a.k.a Retronoma or Charles Papier), through his multiple identities, is one of pillars there.
Amazing books, inspired zines and magnificent posters, Arbitraire knew very fast to stand out as a set of very strong graphic universes. That’s almost impossible not using the words which bloom in every places where this gang passes : the « revival of the underground », the « land-clearers to the noble peers »…
Renaud Thomas co-manages the structure with an iron hand « in an inky glove »… He is often busy producing large patches of color with « Expérience », this bookshop in Lyon owns a screen-printing studio. When he does not get stained, he draws some stories wrongly rickety and really brilliant. All these works are published in LeDernier Cri, in some fanzines and, of course, in the publishing works of Arbitraire. Because finally, if you want something done right, do it yourself…
If he’s not occupied with tidying up chairs at the Festival de la Micro-edition, or with organizing some concerts (guess who makes the posters too!), he will leave Lyon to give his contribution to a new workshop.
For ChiFouMi & Cie, we give Renaud the huge responsibility to oversee the creation of « something-like-a-book », realized and produced collectively during the week, with all the authors and three tons of ink!
