'Our understanding of the world, of nature is shaped by our perception of it,' *says artist Kévin Bray. His installation *Breakdown After Before (2019) is a life-size diorama through which the visitor can walk. He creates an illusionary landscape by adopting some of the oldest special effect techniques cinema has to offer: parts of the scenery are painted on transparent glass and placed in front of the camera lens in such a way that they create the illusion of a romantic landscape, beautiful and dreamy as if upgraded by a filter bubble.

In this work, Bray employs trompe l’oeil to trick our sense of reality, but at the same time deconstructs that illusion. In doing so the artwork not only allows us to enter this picture-perfect scenery, it also makes us aware that this reality only exists within the technology that supports it, constructed out of isolated compartments. If all separate observable components together form a worldview, it is important to look at how we relate to those components. A holistic approach to the world assumes that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, and that is insidious—especially when everyone has their own worldview and takes that for granted.

The installation of Kévin Bray at Het HEM is realized in collaboration with ISOamsterdam in light of Amsterdam Art Week 2022. Parallel to this presentation, a performance by Bray entitled “Petrolux” can be witnessed on May 12 at 21:30, followed by an afterparty with Teki Latex at ISOamsterdam, Isolatorweg 17 in Amsterdam (20 minutes cycling from Het HEM).

If the trompe-l'oeil can teach us anything about ourselves, it is that we are only too happy to be cheated. The trick is not just to fool the eye, the real appreciation actually lies in the knowledge that the ingenious trick is based on the sum of separate components that together stretch the boundaries of the observable world: "how do they do that?!"

For more info on the piece check Kévin’s website .