pierre delavie turns paris' conciergerie into a monumental optical illusion

pierre delavie has created an ‘urban lie’ at the landmark conciergerie building in paris, france, turning it into a monumental optical illusion. ‘cote 15,28 : l’amour déborde’ is presented as part of the nuit blanche festival from now through october 7, and asks viewers to question their notions of what is real, and what is imagined. the façade of the former prison is converted into an upside down display of architectural columns and vaults, confusing the visitor’s sense of scale and space. 

the installation comprises a more than 1,000 square meter canvas, on which an inverted image of a vast architectural space is placed. delavie — known for his large-scale urban interventions that muddle the viewer’s sense of perspective — has considered the motif of ‘rising water’ in the making of this latest piece. ‘this theme of rising water, overflowing, touches me particularly because it brings to mind a flood in winter, and the climate change that awaits us,’ the artist says. displayed during the nuit blanche festival, an annual art festival that turns paris into an open-air museum by night, the trompe l’oeil canvas asks visitors to reconsider the world around them.  

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