Apollo 11

Apollo 11 was a NASA mission that took place in July 1969. At the time, Alain was 10 years old, living in Geneva, Switzerland, without a television. Despite this, he was deeply fascinated by the event and followed every word on a vacuum tube radio late into the night—his mother allowing him to stay up as long as possible, listening intently to both the original broadcast and its French translation.

Inspired by this historic moment, he envisioned a memorial painting of the Apollo 11 capsule that safely returned to the sea. The challenge, however, was how to depict both the exterior of the capsule and its intricate interior instruments in a single oil painting. His idea was to create a dome mounted on the back of the canvas, painting the interior instruments as if viewed from within, creating a 3D effect. The canvas itself would feature the capsule’s entry area, with the door painted in detail, but physically cut open to reveal the inside, offering a unique, immersive perspective.

By the way the GS location of this painting is in the Pacific Ocean, about 380 km (230 miles) south of Johnston Atoll. The recovery ship, USS Hornet, was stationed nearby to retrieve the astronauts.
You can enter these coordinates into Google Maps to see the approximate splashdown location!