With the Onar series, Philippe Cramer explores the unstable boundary between reality and illusion through works that exist between mirror, sculpture, and perceptual object. Named after the Ancient Greek word for “dream,” Onar invites viewers into a space where reflection becomes mirage and reality is subtly transformed.

The series originated from a personal experience in the Californian desert, where reflections of sunlight on heated asphalt created fleeting mirages that blurred the distinction between presence and illusion. This moment of perceptual uncertainty became the conceptual foundation of the work. Throughout the series, Philippe Cramer investigates the ways in which vision is filtered, mediated, and continuously reinterpreted.

Drawing on a long artistic history of mirrors—from Jan van Eyck and Velázquez to Michelangelo Pistoletto, Anish Kapoor, and Olafur Eliasson—Onar transforms reflection into an active and mutable phenomenon. Using a process derived from industrial laminated glass manufacturing, hand-painted color gradients are embedded within the mirror itself, allowing image, color, transparency, and reflection to coexist. The result is neither painting nor mirror, but a hybrid object that alters the viewer’s perception of reality.

The organic silhouettes and luminous chromatic transitions evoke clouds, celestial bodies, eclipses, and atmospheric phenomena. These forms connect the work to humanity’s longstanding fascination with the sky, light, and the sacred dimensions of perception. The series also resonates with the legacy of the Californian Light and Space movement, while maintaining a strong symbolic and material presence.