jul 07, 2011

françois abélanet: quoi croire optical illusion land art

‘qui croire’ (‘who to believe?’), a work of land art by françois abélanet, appears like a sphere when viewed at the proper angle, but it is really a 1500 square meter sprawling installation all media courtesy of paris city hall

‘qui croire?’ (‘who to believe?’), a work of land art by french artist françois abélanet, is an 3-dimensional anamorphosis, a sprawling mass of grass of sand that appears when viewed at the proper angle as though it were a large sphere. the installation can be experienced in front of the steps of paris’s city hall through july 15th, in the center of a garden dedicated to urban trees.

‘qui croire’ spans 100 meters in length, requiring 1200 square meters of lawn, 300 square meters of the coverplant sedum, and 650 cubic meters of sand and straw for its production. about ninety individuals assisted in installing the work over five days.

the site of the piece makes it a natural convergence point across nature and city, and the plant and human worlds. abélanet states: ‘we live in a world where one hears the debates of ecologists, scientists, manufacturers… I simply wanted to note the problem of the tree and invite people to question the place that it, nature, and the environment have in their lives.‘

side view of the work, revealing its actual shape

video (french) documenting ‘qui croire’ and its installation

process photos from the 5-day installation of the piece

aerial view of installation process

via gizmodo

jenny filippetti I designboom

jul 07, 2011

amazing
laura says:
Jul 07, 2011
That is really great; it looks like a Georges Rousse installation, but there is a real interaction with the people around. Well done, love it!
armand says:
Jul 07, 2011
cute
dbkii says:
Jul 07, 2011
Beautiful and… green!!! Lovely
Dario says:
Jul 07, 2011
Kurt Wenner- you got served!
nasdaf says:
Jul 08, 2011
That’s Really Great,,,LoVE it,,,
Armanjdd says:
Jul 09, 2011
I was there yesterday. I don’t know how they got those photos but I couldn’t get the illusion to work
Zee says:
Jul 12, 2011
What an excellent illusion – for anyone who just happens to be passing by on crane that is exactly at the correct height.
This says:
Jul 12, 2011

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