Growing up as a child I was always intrigued by optical illusions; it was always amazing how your brain could play tricks on you. But most optical illusions are kept on a small scale, printed on paper or in books. Amazingly enough, artist Felice Varini has taken optical illusions to a new level. Last summer he completed the “Cercle et suite d’éclats” installation in Vercorin, Switzerland, giving the village a whole new look and making the viewer question their perspective.
Varini chose to work on a large scale for his optical illusion, and using a whole village as your canvas may sound complicated, but he worked with the houses and hills as pretty much any other medium. First the pattern was projected on the town from the vantage point, then traced and painted. Then, photographs were taken from the same spot in daylight. The result was flat looking photos, almost like postcards.
I love the idea of a whole town coming together for one art project, a project that in the end is memorable to locals and visitors alike. Be sure to look at the panorama photo on Varini’s website for the full effect.
A.B.
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