gazing globes

These black and white photographs show four perfect hovering spheres each painted in trompe l’œil, the technique of simulating as exactly as possible the look of objects so that the eye is momentarily deceived. They are doubled by their reflections in water, offering a virtual version of an illusion. The sphere or globe as an object of meditation is a recurrent motif in both oriental and occidental cultures, from the Japanese cult of moon worship (tsukimi) to the glass ‘gazing globes’ which filled the gardens of King Ludwig II’s castles in nineteenth century Bavaria.