amaury dubois breathes life into french church with monumental street art fresco

amaury dubois has created a monumental street art fresco within the interior of the church sainte-madeleine of châtelaillon-plage, on the seaside in the west of france. the custom-made piece covers the entire vault of the church to its choir, including the stained-glass windows. this project is a real coup for the artist, as it becomes one of the largest works ever created in a french church. 

all images courtesy of amaury dubois

amaury dubois has completed his fresco, as a part of the restoration work of the building. the artist has produced a fresh design, respecting both the spiritual dimension of the place, as well as the singular and colourful identity of the seaside resort that is châtelaillon-plage.

upon entering, the visitor is swept away by infinite curves in warm colours, emanating from the choir and spreading along the vault of the building. the colorful shapes make it seem like the ceiling is in motion. the undulations, almost aquatic, contain scales of fish, like a reminder of the ocean situated a few meters from the church. but also, it is a symbol of the first christians and life in abundance.

after the first steps in the church, one’s gaze travels to the stained-glass windows, where a flourishing nature is suddenly discovered. the sun’s rays, penetrating through each stained-glass window, blooms a range of life that gradually spreads along the walls. the richness of the details and the illusion of depth given by the use of 5 shades of blue, almost suggest a work of writing on the part of the artist.

amaury dubois spent two months on this monumental art piece, which he created all alone. he painted the whole fresco by hand, using 5 brushes, before finalizing his work with spray-painting, creating a striking play of shadows and depth. one can clearly feel that the artist was able, with such a surface, to give full scope to the philosophy of his work: painting life in motion. a true expression for the artist, but also a real challenge, this monumental fresco is to be seen as a living reality.

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom