WHEN you’re down and troubled, and you need a helping hand … take your cue from artist Saype, who’s reaching out across the globe with his brilliant Beyond Walls project.

Regular readers of the blog will know that I’m a fan of the French-Swiss sensation, whose handy human chain has now reached the Far East, just days before the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

Thirty-four year-old Saype – real name Guillaume Legros – is best known for his ultra-realistic giant paintings, sprayed on the ground, using a biodegradable paint he invented himself.

The Beyond Walls project features interlaced hands, reaching out, united in a common effort transcending the walls separating us, whether they be physical, mental or geographical spaces.

It’s a worldwide artwork that will connect 20 of the world’s major cities over a period of three years, and which has already included the likes of Paris, Berlin, Geneva, Venice and Cape Town.

You can see all the artworks so far here.

Now, four new murals in Japan mark a major milestone in the project, at Okinawa, Nagasaki, in the shadow of Mount Fuji, and in Tokyo. They are remarkable in every way.

Saype chose the Okinawa Peace Memorial for the first, just a few steps away from the graves of soldiers of all nationalities who fought on the only battlefield on Japanese territory.

Okinawa

Nagasaki, where the second atomic bomb was dropped by the US in the Second World War, is described by Saype as “both the epicenter of human madness and the incredible hope of the survivors of inhumanity”.

Nagasaki

Fuji, meanwhile, is the most iconic site in Japan, a symbol of eternity which, explains the artist, sees humanity passing by its foot, and puts our place on Earth and our priorities into perspective.

Mount Fuji

It would be unthinkable for the human chain not to pass through Tokyo, site of the fourth piece, where tradition meets modernity as the city writes history before our eyes, in the shadow of its past.

Tokyo

Read more: Giant child’s lightbulb moment as Saype paints Oman

• All images in this post courtesy of Saype. See more of his work at www.saype-artiste.com