French Artist JR’s new art installation leaves Effiel Tower perched over ravine
A nart installation has created the optical illusion that the French capital’s Eiffel Tower is perched precariously over a rocky ravine. The artwork, by the artist who uses the pseudonym JR, is located at Place du Trocadéro near the Palais de Chaillot.
The new work tricks the eye to believe that Effiel Tower is perched on a pair of cliffs. When a visitor stands in the right spot, the artwork in the foreground and the tower in the background line up with each other, and the illusion is created. Large queues of people keen to take pictures jumping over the would-be chasm have formed near the blackand-white photomontage.
The Paris piece launches on the eve of the mid-career survey, JR Chronicles, billed as the largest solo museum exhibition to date of the artist’s works, which is due to launch at the Saatchi Gallery in London from June 4 to October 3.
The survey is an expanded version of an exhibition shown at the Brooklyn Museum in New York in 2019. The show is due to include Tehachapi (2019) which charts a collaborative project co-created with the inmates of a maximum-security prison in California (JR pasted 338 strips of paper on the prison yard floor, creating a vast mural of prisoners and staff that is visible from above).
In March, JR unveiled a work on the façade of the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence which created an illusion of a 28m tall crack in the building which shows the gallery in half. The art installation was titled La Ferita.
Other notable works by the artist include The Secret of the Great Pyramid (2019), a large-scale illusory collaborative piece created to mark the 30th anniversary of the Louvre Pyramid. JR also helped coordinate the “Art and Image” project at the École Kourtrajmé, a cinema school founded by his longtime collaborator and film director Ladj Ly.
Large queues of people keen to take pictures jumping over the wouldbe chasm have formed near the black-and-white photomontage.
We are proud to continue playing a role in promoting appreciation for art and artists and enhancing the experience for the community in all our destinations.
Brand Dubai is the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO) and they collaborated with Dubai Holding to bring us a 200-metre-long fantastic work of art. The artwork is launched under the Jumeirah Project. The Jumeirah Project is an initiative introduced in 2018 to raise the area’s profile as a social and cultural destination. With this artworks, Brand Dubai intends to infuse a new creative energy into the prominent neighbourhood.
The artwork, created by 3D international artist Juandres Vera, measures 236×12 metre and displays an image of a painting brush creating long strokes of sea waves ridden by surfers on a hoarding. The immersive artwork, inspired by surfers on Jumeira beach, allows viewers to be part of a 3D illusion of them creating the waves with a brush.
“Our partnership with Brand Dubai will enable us to further drive public engagement with art and creativity across the city to help enhance peoples’ happiness and quality of life. We truly believe in the positive, powerful impact of creative expression on society. In line with our mission to operate ‘For the Good of Tomorrow,’ we are proud to continue playing a role in promoting appreciation for art and artists and enhancing the experience for the community in all our destinations,” Khalid Al Malik, Managing Director of Dubai Holding, said.
The project is among several of Dubai Holding’s ongoing initiatives aimed at empowering the emirate’s creative community as part of its mandate to operate ‘For the Good of Tomorrow.’ Since the inauguration of its Dubai Walls initiative in 2016, Dubai Holding has rolled out various public art projects across its destinations, attractions and communities, allowing the public to explore the works of unique world-class artists.
Nehal Badri, Director of Brand Dubai, said: “Brand Dubai is pleased to partner with Dubai Holding to offer an exciting new public art experience in the city that will help enhance Dubai’s urban environment and highlight the city’s thriving creative culture. This project is in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into an open-air museum.”
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