Hyderabad gets its first Trompe-l'oeil art set up

Paintings displayed at an exhibition in Hyderabad are drawing crowds who are attracted to the life-like quality of the artworks, which have been created using the Trompe-L'oeil technique, which adds the illusion of depth to flat surfaces.

Trompe-L'oeil is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Trompe-L'oeil art paintings are usually a unique blend of creativity, imagination and fine art skills.

Harsha Sethia, Managing Director of the Trompe-l'oeil art exhibition, Illusion told ANI, "In a first of its kind we have brought the new concept called Illusion, for the first time in Hyderabad. We have a set of paintings which are incomplete without human beings, the public can touch and feel of the paintings. With normal paintings, we see and walk away but here there is an interaction with the paintings."

She added that such type of illusionary paintings is widely seen at tourists spots across the world.

"We as a group thought why don't we start in the city. The art is called Trompe-l'oeil art and it is 3D art, it gives a feeling that the visitor is inside it whereas the painting is on the plain surface of the wall. Our main motto to start this in Hyderabad is that we want the public to explore here and public can enjoy here with their families and have fun.

Visitors were seen posing with lifelike images of a tiger leaping out of the frame, an elephant spouting water, a giant open-mouthed snake and one painting even depicted a rain scene from a famous Bollywood flick starring Nargis and Raj Kapoor. A visitor got herself photographed next to it and it looked like she was clutching at an umbrella and is an extension of the portrait on the wall.

A visitor to the show told ANI, "It is the first time that we have visited such a place and the paintings all look real and the experience is excellent. We had a good time here.