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All images courtesy of Simon Laveuve, shared with permission
# Precarious Dwellings Perch Atop Rocks in Simon Laveuve’s 1/35-Scale Miniatures
October 7, 2026
Art
Kate Mothes
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When something’s stable, dependable, and strong, we might say it’s “like a rock.” Similarly, when things become difficult and challenges feel immovable, we might find ourselves “between a rock and a hard place.” These idioms suggest that perhaps especially when we face challenges, we find ways to beat the odds. And Simon Laveuve’s idiosyncratic, post-apocalyptic dwellings detail just that.
The artist’s 1/35-scale miniature domiciles perch atop stilts and boulders. Laveuve pairs tiny chairs, boxes of produce, fishing gear, and other daily essentials with objects that appear to have been scrounged from who-knows-where and repurposed into useful tools and furniture. While figures never occupy the scenes, evidence of their activities and lifestyle intimates their presence, as if the residents have simply slipped out to run a quick errand.
Detail of “Eau-delà Du Gouffre / IDF2068” (2026), mixed media, 63 x 32 x 22 centimeters
If you’re in Paris later this fall, see these works in person in the artist’s solo exhibition, _Ancré dans la roche_ (_Anchored in Rock)_. The title nods to Laveuve’s thematic throughline of dwellings in unexpected and often precarious places, where the anonymous builders make do with what’s available—a fitting metaphor for life amid contemporary political and economic turbulence. The work “speaks to this fundamental need: finding a place to hold on,” the artist tells Colossal. “And, from that point of anchorage, to live.”
_Ancré dans la roche_ opens on November 12 and continues through December 22 at Loo & Lou Gallery, which will also present Laveuve’s work during Luxembourg Art Week from November 20 to 22. Check out the artist’s Instagram for updates.
“Eau-delà Du Gouffre / IDF2068” (2026), mixed media, 63 x 32 x 22 centimeters “Le Graveur D’Épitaphe / Les Étoiles” (2026), mixed media, 52 x 33 x 22 centimeters “L’Observateur / IDF2068” (2026), mixed media, 66 x 22 x 17 centimeters Detail of “L’Observateur / IDF2068” Detail of “L’Observateur / IDF2068” “L’Usine Des Veilleurs / IDF2068” (2026), mixed media, 61 x 25 x 24 centimeters “Demain Sera Comme Hier / IDF2068” (2026), mixed media, 65 x 16 x 16 centimeters Detail of “Demain Sera Comme Hier / IDF2068” Detail of “Eau-delà Du Gouffre / IDF2068”
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