Circle Stars Creates a Reflective Geometry in a Historic Courtyard
Lyon-based artist Cyril Lancelin continues his exploration of immersive geometric forms with Circle Stars, a monumental inflatable sculpture. Installed in the historic courtyard of Étrépagny’s media library in northern France, the work was presented as part of Spot, a group exhibition organized by the Department of Eure for the European Heritage Days.
The installation forms a giant three-dimensional constellation, composed of tubular, star-shaped loops that interlock to create a circular, airy volume. The reflective silver skin amplifies the play of daylight and mirrors the surrounding architecture, stone arcades, pitched roofs, and the sky, dissolving the boundary between the artwork and its context. The site-specific installation occupies the center of the library’s cloister garden, framing the historic statue and establishing a dialogue between contemporary inflatable technology and centuries-old masonry. Seen from the arcades or from beneath the sculpture, visitors perceive shifting reflections of the courtyard and sky, while the dynamic geometry suggests a frozen moment of cosmic expansion.
all images courtesy of Cyril Lancelin
Light, Form, and Heritage Intersect in Cyril Lancelin’s installation
For Cyril Lancelin, the project extends his ongoing investigation into volumetric drawings in space, ephemeral yet architectural. The star motif symbolizes guidance and imagination; the circle speaks of continuity and unity. Together, they create a kind of accessible monument that is both playful and meditative, inviting visitors to walk around and under it, to witness how the mirrored tubes catch sunlight, clouds, or night illumination. As the day progresses, the surface behaves like a living lens, absorbing and redistributing the landscape. Under overcast skies, it appears almost liquid; in bright sun, it fragments the courtyard into flashes of light.
Circle Stars continues the artist’s mission to bring large-scale, participatory sculptures into public and cultural spaces, reimagining how viewers relate to both geometry and place. At the Médiathèque d’Étrépagny, the piece not only offers a striking visual experience but also reactivates the heritage site as a social and contemplative hub, drawing attention to the interplay between history, architecture, and contemporary creativity.
Circle Stars by Cyril Lancelin occupies the courtyard of Étrépagny’s media library in northern France
the installation forms a monumental constellation of interlocking tubular stars