JR plays with illusions, faces, and model trains at château la coste

trains moving on tracks: at the invitation of château la coste, french artist JR has created this optical illusion for the art institution’s renzo piano-designed pavilion. it’s technical. it’s minimal. it’s mesmerizing. and similar to recent works, it continues to play with the unusual scaling of things, drawing our eyes around and around like model trains on tiny tracks.

all images by stephane aboudaram

these trains seem just as mesmerized by the viewer. 700 eye-and-teeth-wagons stare back at you and back at you on their circuits: locking vision, darting away, tricking the mind into finding something or someone familiar in a mosaic of fleeting faces — perfectly hiding their true identity as an anonymous group of autonomous trains. more information about château la coste‘s collaboration with JR can be found here.

700 trains make their way around circular tracks

mind the gap: exhibition at chateau la coste
video courtesy of WE ARE CONTENT(S)

mind the gap: december 10, 2017 — february 25, 2018
video courtesy of WE ARE CONTENT(S)

some wagons have eyes, while others show teeth, noses, lips, and chins
‘mind the gap’ creates a sense of self-reflection

all introspection must come to an end at some point