Jean-Jacques Lequeu: Wanderings

The Artist

Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757–1826) was a French architect and draughtsman whose singular body of work sits between Enlightenment rationalism and unbridled imagination. His meticulous drawings, often layered with esoteric and erotic symbols, depict visionary architecture that was never built.

The Project

For the exhibition devoted to J-J. Lequeu at the Petit Palais in Paris (Paris Musées), I developed an on-site multimedia installation integrated into the exhibition trail. The series “Œuvre à la loupe” (“Artwork Up Close”) offers three immersive short films that reveal the symbols hidden in the architect’s drawings.

On-Site Installation

The films are shown on screens built into the museum trail, creating points of immersive mediation that invite visitors to stop and look closer at the details of the works. This installation transforms the visiting experience, letting viewers discover the hidden symbols and esoteric meanings the eye cannot catch in the original drawings on display.

Creative Approach

Each film uses animation to guide the viewer’s eye through the drawings. Virtual camera movements, gradual zooms and discreet annotations progressively reveal the architectural, mythological and allegorical symbols concealed within Lequeu’s compositions.