Privacy Policy

Jobs

About Us

Terms of Service

Trompe l'oeil, Les Falaises du Trocadéro, 18 mai 2021, 19h58, Paris, France, 2021

Trompe l'oeil, Les Falaises du Trocadéro, 19 mai 2021, 19h57, Paris, France, 2021

Trompe l'oeil, Les Falaises du Trocadéro, 21 mai 2021, 20h03, Paris, France, 2021

Trompe l'oeil, Les Falaises du Trocadéro, 25 mai 2021, 22h18, Paris, France, 2021

In May 2021, JR revealed an immense interactive installation at Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower, titled ‘Les Falaises du Trocadéro’ (‘The Cliffs of the Trocadéro’). Leading up to the landmark were meticulously positioned pieces of paper that, when viewed from a specific vantage point, made up a huge monochrome image of a terrifying gorge, plunging underneath the Eiffel Tower down to a Parisian street. 

Pasted on the Parvis des Droits de l'Homme, the black and white photograph appears to extend from the base of the Eiffel Tower as it straddles two cliff edges, encouraging a blurring between reality and illusion. Viewers would cautiously tip toe across the surface of the image, whilst friends snapped amusing images of their subjects standing terrifyingly close to the edge. The installation remained open for only a few weeks, in keeping with the ephemeral quality of JR’s works, yet four views of the installation were captured and produced as prints months later by HENI in a limited edition according to demand.

JR has long been interested in using visual trickery in his works. In ‘Les Falaises du Trocadéro’ he drew on two particular techniques. The first visual device is the centuries-old trompe l’oeil method, by which a flat plane is manipulated to appear three dimensional. The second effect is achieved by the carefully planned distortion of the image to suit a single vantage point, known as anamorphosis.

In collaboration with HENI, four views of the ‘Les Falaises du Trocadéro’ installation were chosen to be produced as prints, each offering the differing effect of light and atmosphere at the site throughout its one month run time. One shows a gloomier, cloudy day, with a figure joyfully leaping over the gorge with an umbrella; another a blissfully sunny day; a third features a rainbow bursting across the sky; and the final of the glittering Tower at night, a beam of light emanating from its top.

JR never offers information about the meaning of his works, consistently explaining that it is only through the viewers’ interaction with it that meaning forms. Thus, JR’s involvement in printmaking can be seen to continue many of the ideas that already underpin his work, namely delegating ownership to the viewer both literally and in meaning. Executed in glistening Giclée lamination, the four ‘Les Falaises du Trocadéro’ prints bring a timeless and borderless dimension to the initially fleeting and fixed rendition of the project.

Les Falaises du Trocadéro

In May 2021, JR revealed an immense interactive installation at Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower, titled ‘Les Falaises du Trocadéro’ (‘The Cliffs of the Trocadéro’). Leading up to the landmark were meticulously positioned pieces of paper that, when viewed from a specific vantage point, made up a huge monochrome image of a terrifying gorge, plunging underneath the Eiffel Tower down to a Parisian street. 

JR

JR

Editions