French artist JR has a talent for moving between worlds; whether photographing inmates at California’s notorious Tehachapi prison one day or designing a sleeper car for one of the world’s most luxurious trains the next, his creative telescope never seems to diminish. Most recently, he stood onboard Belmond’s Venice Simplon Orient Express at Paris’ Gare de l’Est, to present his design for the train’s new ‘L’Observatoire’ carriage, which will start welcoming passengers in March 2025.
JR designs L’Observatoire Suite for Belmond’s Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Trains have long been part of JR’s story. ‘I grew up in the suburbs,’ he recalls. ‘I would take the train to Paris and paste my first photos in it, over the metro maps.’ Worth noting is his ‘Women are Heroes’ project, in which the artist photographed women in Nairobi, Kenya, and covered a whole train with their eyes. This, in particular, was what made VSOE general director Pascal Deyrolle think of him for the design of a new carriage four years ago. ‘We’ve created history,’ Deyrolle says. ‘Not just an immersive artistic experience, a cabinet of curiosities by JR, but something that will continue to exist long after we’re gone.’
The carriage, once a dining car, had been abandoned for decades, and its decrepit condition meant that JR was free to completely remodel the interior, as long as the design elements remained faithful to its pre-1945 origins. The result is an immense private suite, with separate areas throughout – leather sofas and a folding table for dining, a daybed next to a window for reading or listening to old vinyls and even a disco ball on the ceiling for a spontaneous dance.
For the project, JR sought to create a cocoon where everything is perceived as rounded. As such, one can’t help but notice a stylish curvature across the carriage, where a gentle smoothes the divide between ceiling and walls. This curvature was a challenge for the Italian artisans who covered the surfaces with fish scale patterns made from 9,800 individual pieces in different materials – wood and zinc in the living area, and green handpainted leather in the bedroom.
JR refers to the entire project as an ‘ode to artisans’, to the magic of handicraft and age-old European traditions. Wood marquetry is another major element, from the mural of Austrian mountains in the corridor to the decorative panels whose details reference JR’s story. The bedroom, which sits at one end of the carriage, includes a brass bathtub and the stained glass depiction of a tree, made by Franz Mayer of Munich, whose work has graced churches since the 19th century. Over the bed, a round skylight offers an ever-changing view of the stars. Push a button, and it opens and closes like the lens of a camera.
At the other end, a bookshelf hides a door leading to a secret space, which JR refers to as the ‘tea room,’ with a fireplace and another round skylight. Behind glass wall cabinets, model trains hide tiny passengers eating, dancing, or holding up a message – the start of a treasure hunt throughout the carriage that leads to a hidden Leica, the same model as JR’s first camera, loaded with photos he took. ‘That’s an integral part of this project,’ he says. ‘I searched for secret places to hide things. It’s through curiosity, dreaming and discovering that you will find them.’
