Most people walking around in the docks of the French city of Saint Nazaire would probably notice the big red triangles painted on silos, sheds, walls, and roofs. At first they might seem random, in size, shape, and location. But they have actually been very thoughtfully placed.

Climbing one of the buildings in the area, the Terrasse Panoramique, it all comes together. The shapes are in fact all part of an overarching pattern formed by red triangles spread throughout the area.

This work, Suite de triangles, was unveiled in 2007 as part of the Estuaire art exhibition, which invites international artists to create large-scale works using the environment surrounding the Loire River between Nantes to Saint-Nazaire.

The work was created by the Swiss artist Felice Varini, and like many of his other pieces, it’s an anamorphosis that can only be perceived from a single point. Inspired by renaissance artists experimenting with optical illusions, he has projected his two-dimensional pattern in a three-dimensional world.

Not everything is what it first seems, and Suite de triangles is a perfect example of this.