The world of diorama artist Guillaume Lachapelle reels off into infinity

Who is he?

Guillaume Lachapelle's fantastical sculptures and installation pieces have made him an established figure in the Montreal art world, but his recent work has brought him an altogether different level of attention. 

Though he covers a range of themes, Lachapelle's latest obsession is with infinity, expressed through a series of gorgeous (and slightly unsettling) dioramas that use one-way mirrors – also known as two-way mirrors, confusingly – to create the illusion of infinite space. When popular art blog Colossal featured it on the site last week and linked to his personal site, it collapsed under the traffic.

Before the infinity Eureka moment, and after

Sculptures from his pre-diorama phase can be seen at public locations such as Belmont Park and the Père-Ambroise library in Montreal. He is currently represented by Art Mûr gallery, and he has exhibited in Toronto, France and elsewhere. 

Lachapelle's first infinity box, created a couple of years ago, portrayed a corridor descending into an endless abyss. It was small enough that you could hold it in your hand.

"I thought I came up with the idea, which was maybe a bit dumb," he says. "The effect is not unique. But I had never seen anything made in that way before."

It may seem odd that someone who identifies as a sculptor would make an infinity box, but Lachapelle shrugs that off. "Well, it's an object, so it's a sculpture."

In response to the obligatory "why do you make art about this?" question, Lachapelle says, simply, "The concept of infinity is mind-boggling."

Borges would approve

Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges loved infinity. He even wrote a story about a creepy infinite library that's not a little reminiscent of Lachapelle's infinite library. But Lachapelle didn't know about Borges until after he started making his boxes.

"I guess my infinite library is the same idea — that you're in this space of knowledge, but at the same time, at the other end, it's darkness," he says. "It's, like, the further you go, the more you learn, the more you go into darkness. It's the impossibility of accessing knowledge."

Lachapelle has made around 15 boxes. "I've sold a few of them. The tiniest would be maybe $2,000, and the biggest [around 50 centimeters tall] maybe $10,000." As he continues to make them, he pushes the boundaries by adding new effects. He fills them with 3D-printed models, lights and other interesting stuff.

"I made one box where, no matter which direction you look, there is no ceiling or floor or walls," he says. "I'm trying to add new lighting effects. I don't know what's next. Still more experimental works, but we'll see where it goes."

Does he have these all over his house?

A house with infinity boxes everywhere would be like a wizard's house, which would be cool. But Lachapelle doesn't use these as home décor. "It's easier to hang paintings onto your wall," he says. "With sculptures, you need space. Even if it's not that big, you need a base and some space around it, so you need a big house, which I don't have."