Cyril Lancelin conjures cosy image of staying home with Pillow Pyramid

Artist Cyril Lancelin has imagined a protective fort made of pillows to encourage people to stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Named Pillow Pyramid, the conceptual design sees a double bed sheltered under a tent-like tower of cushions. Lancelin created the images as a morale-boosting allegory.

"It is both a refuge, a house within the house, a cocoon where one will want to stay, Lancelin told Dezeen. "The cushion is the symbol of the house as a cozy nest, a place of rest and above all of security."

People in countries around the world are currently self isolating at home to slow the transmission of the coronavirus.

"Through the pandemic that we are all experiencing, the cushion is one of the weapons we have," he said. "Stay at home, so as not to infect others, and stop the virus."

Like so many others caught in the pandemic, the Lyon-based artist had seen all his work delayed as countries went into lockdown.

First a project he was working on in China was pushed back, then one for the South by Southwest festival in the USA.

"As I couldn't anymore design an immersive art installation for outside, I thought we should all have an indoor installation to help us stay home," said Lancelin.

"Even if it is conceptual, I wanted the idea to bring us positive images in our head."

Lancelin normally creates huge artworks that envelop the viewer such as Knot in Hangzhou, a twisting tangle of inflatable pink tubes.

Other recent projects include a stacked sculptures of shining steel balls called Half Pyramid in Shenzhen, and a giant blowup flamingo in Dubai.

As a creative person, Lancelin has found the pandemic to be a mixed bag when it comes to making art.

"I will say it is hard to focus," he said. "I like to mix in my work real and fictional ideas, digital art and immersive art installations. Real or not, they are designed for a world that we know."

"Now I have to think about all the changes in our everyday's life, the world seems to become fictional! This is challenging and bringing new ideas and of course new discussions," he continued.

Many designers have adopted pillows as a tool for alleviating loneliness in difficult times. Aseptic Studio has made cushions with arms for lonely city-dwellers to be held by, while Somnox is a robotic pillow that "breathes" in and out to lull the user to sleep.

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