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1,200 Chairs Are Turned into a Dynamic "Roller Coaster" in French Public Square

Baptiste Debombourg has transformed an ordinary public square in France into the site of an incredible art installation. Titled Stellar, the piece utilizes the very objects that normally occupy the outdoor space–cafe chairs–and stacks 1,200 of them to form a dynamic roller coaster. Four large, colorful loops twist and turn within one another as seating is oriented sideways and upside down. Although there isn't a car to actually ride on this static installation, the clever arrangements convey a feeling of movement, as if this were a real carnival ride.

Located at the Place du Bouffay in Nantes, Debombourg designed his project after observing the great presence that outdoor restaurants have within the city center. He also took inspiration from the past–the shape of Stellar is influenced by an artwork that Robert Delaunay made for the “Palais de l'Air” during the Paris World's Fair in 1937.

You can visit Debombourg's installation as part of Le Voyage Nantes until August 20th.

Image source: Le Voyage Nantes

Baptiste Debombourg: Website
via [Colossal, Contemporist]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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