Public call for art proposals / Site: Servior Bascharage (L) / Dimensions: 400x350 cm / Year: 2025

The project and its execution reference the “trompe-l’œil” technique (Scheinmalerei), a pictorial method that creates optical illusions, making objects or spaces appear three-dimensional on a flat surface. Here, trompe-l’œil dissolves the rigidity of the concrete canopy walls, integrating with the architecture while pushing the limits of representation. From antiquity (Pompeii frescoes) to contemporary practices, this technique has maintained a strong connection to architecture.

In this context, this project plays with perception, emphasizing the fragility of appearances and the impermanence of structures. These paintings evoke instability in structures meant to be stable, challenging perception and questioning architectural solidity. By blurring the line between reality and illusion, the project invites a reconsideration of the relationship to space and material. This project, conceived for the Servicor Bascharage (a residence for the elderly), draws from the language of architectural plans (dimensions, scale, etc) and the world of construction, including materials, structures, and technical details. It highlights the beauty of rawness by depicting unfinished parts of buildings: exposed materials, partial walls, scaffolding, and structural elements. This approach creates a striking visual effect, deconstructing the appearance of buildings and revealing their fragility or pre-finished state. Referencing Brutalism, this trompe-l’œil emphasizes the beauty of “naked” materials, celebrating their intrinsic aesthetics and the passage of time questioning judgments based on appearances. The work goes beyond classical realism, recombining, exaggerating, and reframing elements to create unique visual transpositions and graphic compositions. The execution was planned to combine hand-painting with industrial techniques, enhancing impact and originality, while connecting to the historical tradition of trompe-l’œil. The project was submitted in response to a public call for “art in public buildings” proposals but was not selected !