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An installation featuring walls and a floor covered in bold, geometric patterns. One wall displays a colourful, concentric diamond motif, while the adjacent wall is a black and white checkerboard.

Art: Canadian artist Dominique Pétrin creates some seriously trippy interiors

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Date
5 February 2014

If some people’s minds would manifest themselves as perfectly placid Zen-like spaces (think an up-market provincial spa) I think mine is better represented by Dominique Pétrin. The Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist is interested in “producing altered states of conscience and perception, be it through cognitive or visual illusions, or, for her performances, (through) the use of hypnosis.” The amazing spaces she creates are full of jarring colours, optical illusions and anthropomorphic turds which combine to incredible effect. Even looking at them online you start to feel like you might be hallucinating – is that burger really talking to me? – so I can only imagine how trippy it must be to spend some time there.

Dominique has a serious artistic pedigree and used to play with the band Les Georges Leningrad, which suggests there’s more than one (brightly-coloured) string to her creative bow.

An installation featuring rooms with vibrant, geometric patterns. One wall is covered in a teal damask print with a central green and blue symbol, while the floor displays a black and white optical illusion.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: Hotline

A brightly coloured installation featuring a pink wall with a graphic of a stacked hot dog on a pedestal. The room has a red wall, a pink brick-patterned wall, and a floor with black and white stripes.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: Hotline

A colourful mural features a palm tree, a classical urn and a blue cartoon face in a frame. The scene is bordered by bold stripes and a row of 3D cubes above a Greek key pattern.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: Hotline

An installation featuring a pink wall with a blue brick pattern and a colourful, geometric floor. A yellow 3D plinth extends from the wall, holding a burger, with a small speech bubble that reads “Wanna beng?”.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: Hotline

An installation featuring a room with clashing patterns and colours. A light blue wall holds a palm tree, a classical urn and a blue smiley face, while the floor is covered in a black and white geometric pattern.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: Hotline

A 3D render of a smiling pile of poo emoji perched on a geometric pedestal. The pedestal is pink and light blue with a white cracked pattern, set against a green dotted background and a black and white striped floor.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: Hotline

An immersive art installation featuring walls and floors covered in bold, contrasting patterns. One wall is filled with black and white scribbles, while the floor transitions from a grey surface to sharp black and white stripes.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

An installation featuring a room filled with bold patterns, bright colours and eclectic objects. A palm tree stands against a grey wall decorated with confetti and a small Soviet flag.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

A collage featuring a small pink octopus peeking over a geometric border of green, blue and red shapes. A speech bubble next to the figure reads “Ya but no ruff stuff k?” against a black and white checkered background.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

An installation featuring a room with a black and white striped floor and walls covered in colourful, geometric patterns. A small, multi-coloured 3D model of a city sits on a tiered red and blue plinth.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

An installation room featuring walls and floors covered in contrasting patterns. One wall is a black and white scribble, while another is light grey with a palm tree and a small framed artwork.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

A colourful collage of geometric patterns and textures. A small, brick-bordered square in the centre contains a grid of nine small burger icons.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

A colourful collage featuring a black and white checkered background. A central framed image shows a pepperoni pizza with a speech bubble that reads “Wanna bang?”.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

A colourful collage of bold patterns and geometric shapes. A brown and white houndstooth section features a yellow diamond containing a gold necklace, bordered by rainbow stripes and a row of multi-coloured 3D cubes.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

A cocktail glass with a lemon slice and straw sits on a pink and green patterned ledge. Beside it are three small yellow bags marked with dollar signs, set against a black and white geometric backdrop.
Above

Dominique Pétrin: #pizzaparty (Photo by Rémi Thériault)

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

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Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

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