JR on the Making of L’Observatoire

This train carriage is more than a mode of travel – it’s a vessel of stories, memories, and dreams. With every panel, photograph and hidden drawer, it invites visitors to embark on a journey, not just through landscapes but through perspectives, emotions and time itself. 

The evolution of the space was organic. After deciding the layout – the bedroom here, the bathroom there – it became about the feel. Rounded edges replaced sharp corners, creating softness. Leather in the bedroom, wood in the living room, and a fireplace – because why shouldn’t a train have one? I wanted it to feel like a nest. Cosy, warm, safe. A place where every detail invites you to stay, to linger. 

There are many hidden details and personal items that might go unnoticed at first but have deep personal meaning to me. I love the idea of discovery – opening a drawer and finding something personal. It makes the space feel alive. I wanted to hide so many things. It’s like when you go someplace, anywhere, and you start opening things, you think, “Oh wow, this is someone’s belongings,” and you can look through them. You can’t necessarily take them – well, you can if you want – but it is more about looking, searching and digging. There are so many things for you to look at. I just like that; it feels way more personal. So that is why I have put so many drawers in. It’s the idea that even if some of them are empty, there is always the possibility of something. It resonates with me, and I have the same thing in all my studios – always, always a lot of drawers. I don’t know what that says about me, but maybe I need to check with a therapist.

In the corridor, the walls are filled with photographs that are very dear to me, and I intend to change them over time. It was really an impulse to begin with – I thought, “Oh, I want to put something from Paris. I’d love to take something from Burma, then something from my early days in Rome, then a bit of New York – just something from each of the places that are important to me, but also so that you can feel like you are in someone’s mind.” It personalises the whole carriage to evoke emotion. Each image embodies a part of my journey and represents my exploration of the world and different stages of life. 

This sense of curation carries through into the library. There are many books, each with its own meaning. There are books on art, but also many books on literature. I wanted to have the whole collection from Gallimard, not only because they are beautiful and have all the classics, but because it creates the tone I was looking for. It completes the wood and the zinc ceiling inside the tearoom. Yes, it is a very famous collection, but it’s all in the design. I’ve also added art books that sit next to the crayons and blank paper – if you want to sit down and start drawing or writing letters, there is a desk right next to the library. So when you feel inspired in this very cozy moment, there is the possibility to write to your loved ones or write your thoughts. 

My favourite installation is hidden in the tearoom – it’s a little train maquette made by the best miniature model makers in the world. It took two years of work to build and design every single piece. They built it in Switzerland, Italy and Korea – it was very ambitious work. Inside the model, you’ll see a lot of my team and people that work with me, as well as friends who have come to visit the train. I filmed them by placing a camera in every window so that you can see the scenes that are happening. A lot of the time, they are just really having fun because they are enjoying their time on the train. But everything was staged so that there are secret messages that occasionally appear. You might catch them, or you might not – the video lasts for hours and hours – but those moments, if you catch them, might reveal something like the title of a book or lead you to another paper that tells you which drawer it corresponds to. That might lead you to my first Leica camera, binoculars or some other hidden treasures on the train. Everything on the train carries hidden meaning for me.

There are a lot of scenes in the marquetry that hold meaning. They are all based on scenes from around the world – from Berlin to the trains in Kenya to the moon in Brazil. But they also connect to ideas in general, such as climbing buildings and exploring a place from another perspective, which has always been the idea behind my work – to look at the world from a different perspective. The marquetry features eyes on a water tower in New York, and you can see buildings and shapes from different cities. One of the pieces features a large tree running through it, symbolising growth and my journey through life. The tree’s path intersects with various scenes representing my work, highlighting the connections I’ve made along the way. 

Together, these elements create rich symbolism. In the end, when each piece comes together, it forms an incredible visual that evokes a sense of modern creation. Each part is so personal.