jean-françois rauzier forms architectural babels from stacked urban structures

jean-françois rauzier forms architectural babels from stacked urban structures
(above) babel 17, 2015 | c-type print, 170 x 100 cm
image © jean-françois rauzier

through his series of ‘babels’, jean-françois rauzier invites viewers into an imagined architectural universe brimming with cultural references and motifs. the french artist explores our perceptions of the world, surveying themes like progress, oppression, ecology, utopia, and liberty. despite the dreamlike world created for each composition, rauzier simulates reality through a technique called ‘hyper-photography’, which allows him to combine both infinitely big and small scale imagery in one piece. the juxtaposition, duplication, and manipulation of original photography makes it possible to reproduce human perception more accurately.

babel 11, 2008 | c-type print, 170 x 100 cm
image © jean-françois rauzier

there are two aspects of series: some compositions — particularly babel 2, 11, and 24 — depict an architectural style that describes the distinct culture and community of a place. these artworks simultaneously relay thoughts about human presence and absence. using the hyper-photographic technique, rauzier creates an entirely new architecture, often cold and repetitive, but whose details create a sense of privacy and intimacy.

in other babels — namely numbers 15, 16 and 17 — there is an undeniable sense of whimsy, where the purpose is to concentrate a city and its atmosphere in one single construction. stacked atop each other in the ‘miami babel’, for example, rauzier pays tribute to the city by stacking its villas and façades like a layer cake, playing with balance to make the palms and pastel buildings come alive.

babel soho, 2012 | c-type print, 170 x 100 cm
image © jean-françois rauzier