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  THE ARTIST

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The artist behind the decoration is the French-Algerian artist Manuel M. Tafat. He was born on 23 February 1945 at Rue Sadi Carnot 178, Belcourt, in Algiers, 600 meters from Albert Camus' childhood home on Rue de Lyon, the youngest of 10 siblings.  In his youth he was an activist in the resistance movement and lost

3 of his brothers in the Franco-Algerian Civil War.

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As a 16-year-old, he was trained as a decorator, by it

French artist Francois Costa, and moved

during that period in the artistic environment

around the Algerian Academy of Arts

(Academy of Fine Arts).  In his spare time he was a boxer

and won several championships for the city.

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Forced by the political unrest in Algeria

he fled in 1967  to France. Through the Red Cross

he was given the opportunity to start on  the technical school,

Plan de Cuques, in Marseille, as a stonemason.

He then continued on the painting line at technical school,

Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur in Dijon, where he finished his

apprenticeship in Golbey - Epinal, as a bricklayer apprentice. That was at the time he got his

technical ability and formed its craft foundation.

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In 1970, Manuel lived in Paris, St. Germain des Pres, where he lived with and worked for the Russian existentialist, Chez Popoff.

The following year, he traveled to Geneva, where he worked for five years with Indian Prince L'aga Khan Saddrudin, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. In Geneva, he got to know Monica Davidoff, Geneva's cigar queen, and became friends with the fake painter Fernand Legros.

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From 1976 to 78 he was self-employed and performed decorating tasks. At that time he lived at the Paseo Maritimo in Palma de Mallorca,  where he bla. was a close friend of Madame Inez Mc Donald, widow of General John Omar Bradley, and her famous dog King Kong. This was followed by a period in which he traveled and worked as a photo model in Barcelona, Milan, Dusseldorf, Stockholm, and thus came to Copenhagen.

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In Copenhagen, he met his Danish wife, Ann-Mari Hydes, and in 1980 had a daughter, Manuella. Since then he has lived in Denmark. From 1979 to 1983 he worked in Illums Bolighus as a decoration employee in the furniture department and from 1984 to 1993 for UNICEF in Nordhavnen.

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In 1992, Manuel started his life's work and founded the association Kunst og Farver. 
He has taught mosaic and color composition for both private students and AOF, as well as performed decorating assignments in public.

In 2006, Manuel left  away  after an operation at Rigshospitalet. He left behind Art and Colors  to his daughter and the association.

Kunstner Manuel Tafat
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