lens cloud blurs boundaries between nature and art
Perched on the heights of a Sicilian rooftop, Vincent Leroy’s enigmatic Lens Cloud installation floats delicately in the air. Made of optical lenses similar to those used in projectors and electronic devices, the kinetic mobiles form a transparent constellation which undulates and deforms in a hypnotically slow and spectacular display. Lightweight and aerial, the magnifying glasses overlap, intertwine, and multiply themselves, blurring the limits of the artwork. The project continues the French artist’s exploration of the phenomena of perception, following his previous Lenscape and Slow Lens projects which similarly act as prisms through which the landscape engages in a lively abstract composition.
Lens Cloud | all images courtesy of Vincent Leroy
vincent leroy intertwines magnifying glass for optical illusion
With the levitating optical illusions of Lens Cloud, artist Vincent Leroy continues playing with his audience’s perceptions. In dialogue with its surroundings, the installation almost seems to blend into the natural scenic backdrop. The mobiles intermingle with the vegetation and cactus that engulf them, while the transparent discs reflect natural light and evolve according to the hues of the Sicilian sky. Under other points of view, the constellation of magnifying glasses transforms the landscape and diffracts it into a kaleidoscopic and poetic vision, urging viewers to contemplate their relationship with nature.
Lens Cloud perches on the heights of a Sicilian rooftop, in dialogue with its landscape
the installation is shaped of optical lenses similar to those used in projectors and electronic devices
the magnifying glasses overlap, intertwine, and multiply, blurring lines between nature and art

a kaleidoscopic reflecting of nature
the transparent discs reflect natural light and evolve according to the hues of the Sicilian sky
Vincent Leroy continues his exploration of the phenomena of perception


project info:
name: Lens Cloud
designer: Vincent Leroy
location: Villa Vendicari, Sicily, Italy
photography: Tina Kentner, Stéphane Janin, Vincent Leroy Studio
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: ravail khan | designboom