In Paris, on the facade of the Opéra Garnier appeared a new installation by JR, the trompe-l’œil “Retour à la caverne” (Return to the cave). The Opéra National de Paris has in fact invited the artist – who defines himself as an “urban activist” – to transform the scaffolding necessary for the restoration of the Palais Garnier into an occasion of unexpected wonder within the urban space.

Until September 25th, the façade of the Parisian temple of dance and music will appear, thanks to an anamorphosis, as the entrance of a gigantic cave, an opening through a paesage of light and rocks, obtained through a photographic collage in black and white, reflecting the scenography of the operas of composers such as Wagner and Berlioz.

The work tries to evoke a romantic atmosphere, with its artistic tension towards the most mysterious forces of nature, but it also refers to the myth of the Platonic cave, whose threshold leads the human being towards precise knowledge, obtained by overcoming the errors of confused perceptions. A second phase of the installation will follow in November.

Opening image: “Retour à la Caverne - Atto I”, Palais Garnier, Opéra de Paris. Image courtesy of JR.