Description

Retinal Rivalry

Cyprien Gaillard (*1980) created two photogravures, each unveiling two stills from his stereoscopic film Retinal Rivalry (2024), which premiered during the 2024 summer exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler. Referencing the iconic technique of anaglyph-like 3D glasses, Gaillard juxtaposes vibrant shades of red and cyan in each image, reminiscent of the color filters used for depth perception.

Gaillard's artistic vision transcends geographical boundaries, as the film scenes captured within his photogravures traverse landscapes both natural and manmade. From the serene grandeur of the Bastei set against the surrealism of the Michael Jackson memorial in Munich (Retinal Rivalry II), to the whimsical encounter between Cologne's caricatural Tünnes sculpture and an oblique view on the Van Gogh “Immersive” posters adorning Berlin’s Graffiti Mauerpark wall (Retinal Rivalry I). Through this deliberate play with complementary colors, places and images the viewer is able to reconstruct these disparate fragments into an unified spatial panorama.