Entering an art gallery holding my smartphone upright, finding the right angle to view the pieces through my camera, was not my expectation of viewing art. As I slowly walked towards the exhibit called Pool Party Aquanouba In French, mysterious music started playing from my phone, followed by shapes blinking, sliding and moving on the screen. The sudden disappearance and reappearance of figures gave the visitor the opportunity to play the role of a seeker in this hide-and-seek game/art. The intricately designed poster included listed items such as a map, a coin, and a golden ticket.

The steps remain consistent as we move from one artwork to another by French artist and graphic designer Aurélien Genny. His pieces include recurring characters represented by geometric shapes that explore diverse subjects, ranging from a Hindu temple to catacombs inspired by his earlier experiences in India. The objective of this experience is to find all 12 hidden objects in a list of ten posters on display. To this end, visitors scan the artworks using a mobile app designed by Jenny herself, which uses augmented reality (AR) technology. AR combines the user’s real-life environment with computer-generated content to create interactive experiences. The AR exhibition titled Looky Look was officially inaugurated by the artist on November 20 at the Alliance Française de Trivandrum, Vazhuthacaud.

Looky Look is currently running at Alliance Française cultural centers across the country as part of their Digital November Festival. The exhibit is inspired by “look and find games” such as Where’s Waldo, a British series of children’s puzzle books. The objective of the game is to find a specific character among the crowd.

“The idea was to make it accessible to children, parents and the very old so that everyone can enjoy it,” says Aurelien.

With over 16 years of experience as an artist, Aurélien is an art director and multidisciplinary artist specializing in augmented reality experiences through digital illustration. He has won several international awards such as the Graphika Award for Design, the Numix Award and the Cannes Lions Award. She founded Maison Tangible, a publishing house and gallery, in 2015, and has worked on projects such as murals, children’s books, AR treasure hunts, and creating a poster for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in France.

Aurélaine Jenny’s poster for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in France. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Aurelien, who has been fascinated by AR since the beginning of his career, says his interest is “linked to my path as an artist.” “I started my career as a graphic designer and later I learned motion design,” he says. When I decided to combine motion with tangible elements of art, AR seemed like the best way to do it.

early start

“Coming from a poor family, my father was a hard-working laborer in a factory and was very ill all the time. “They didn’t understand how I could draw for a living,” says the artist, who completed his art degree at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Besançon, France for as long as Aurélien can remember. , He used to draw all the time. “I wanted to imitate Asterix and other comic books. It was an obsession and I wanted to draw them exactly as I saw them in the comics,” he remembers.

“After working as a freelancer for 16 years, I don’t feel like I’m working anymore,” says the artist. I’m always making things. I see my work as playing with Lego bricks. I’m making geometric shapes, and I connect them into one thing that leads to another thing, and it goes on like that.

beta testing

In 2023, Aurélien Jenny visits India with AR exhibition midi minuteA collection of works by 11 French artists. As the exhibition was successful, the Alliance Française invited Aurelien to present another show, this time presenting his own works. “At that time, I had a lot of projects in rough draft and Looky Look was one of them. The goal was the exhibition, and I had ten months to do it,” he says.

The exhibition currently includes ten works, two of which are based on his experiences in India. “There is a flower market poster that is inspired by a temple I saw in Bengaluru and a Hindu temple, which is a mix of every temple I have seen during my travels. I was in the flower market during Diwali, it was like an explosion of colors and fragrances; Flowers everywhere.” Other themes include art school, fun fair, movie city, etc.

Flower market exhibition by Aurélien Jenny at the Lookie Look AR exhibition, inspired by the artist’s experience in Bengaluru. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Aurélien says that the exhibition is currently in beta stage and that he wants to expand it with more posters adding hidden objects after workshops and tests with children and adults. The artist wants to develop this AR experience into a board game. He says, “My desire for Looky Look is to create a cardboard game so that everyone can play it at home with their family, children and friends.”

Tourists visiting the exhibition. Photo Courtesy: Nainu Oommen

He adds, “I also wanted to strike the right balance in the difficulty of finding the objects hidden within the posters. The idea is that if I go to a new country for an exhibition, I will create a poster for that place. I was lucky enough to be invited to Estonia after India. I will also design another poster for Estonia. Right now my dream is to make enough posters so that I can have 10 posters for that country.”

The Looky Look exhibition is running till December 18 at the Alliance Française de Trivandrum, Vazhuthacaud.