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Felice Varini’s Yellow Eccentric Concentric Circles Wrap A Medieval Fortress In France

Eccentric Concentric by Felice Varini, Carcassonne, France

Andre Morin

Visible until September 2018, Felice Varini’s latest project is an eye-catching installation at the medieval fortress of Carcassonne – France’s second-most famous tourist site. Spread on the west front of the city fortifications, 15 yellow circles (composed of temporary thin aluminum strips) all come together perfectly in the field of vision when standing facing one of the gates and is characteristic of the Swiss artist’s geometric perspective-localized paintings.

 

Dubbed “Concentric, eccentric”, the project is the brainchild of contemporary Swiss artist Felice Varini, famed for creating illusions of flat graphics superimposed on three-dimensional spaces via an eye-deceiving technique called anamorphosis.

 

Eccentric Concentric by Felice Varini, Carcassonne, France

Felice Varini tried to use these vast patterns to provide unique visual experience for people. “During the tour of the castle, people will notice these yellow circles gradually spread from Porte d’Aude,” explains the artist. “Such experience also attracts them to explore more about the heritage.”

 

Eccentric Concentric by Felice Varini, Carcassonne, France

The project from the Paris-based Varini celebrates the 20th anniversary of the inscription of the city on the world heritage list at UNESCO but has been controversial as some feel the work desecrates the second-most visited tourist site after the Eiffel Tower in France.