Installed in honor of the structure’s 30th anniversary, with the help of a small army of 400 volunteers, French artist JR pasted thousands of strips of paper around the Louvre in Paris to provide a glimpse at what may lie beneath the iconic glass pyramid.
JR’s new illusion reveals a construction site with the tip of the pyramid at its center and a much larger structure extending down into a rocky quarry. However, such impressive installation can only last a single weekend. The images, like life, are ephemeral. Once pasted, the art piece lives on its own. The sun dries the light glue and with every step, people tear pieces of the fragile paper. The process is all about participation of volunteers, visitors, and souvenir catchers. This project is also about presence and absence, about reality and memories, about impermanence.
To see more of JR’s large-scale photo installations, follow the artist on Instagram.
