Here are two ways you can use déjà vu in your art.

1. The Repetitive Motif

This method uses simple repetition to mimic the feeling of seeing something familiar again and again. The subtle variations are what make it feel like déjà vu, not just a simple pattern.

Materials: A pen, pencil, or any drawing tool you prefer.

The Process: Choose a simple shape or icon, a house, an eye, a teacup. Draw that shape over and over across a page. But with each drawing, make a small, deliberate change. The line might be thicker, the angle slightly different, or an extra detail might appear. The final piece won’t look like a repeating pattern, but rather a collection of ghosts of the same idea, each one slightly different.

2. The Juxtaposition of Eras

This method creates a collage that is both familiar and jarring, capturing the sense of being in a time that doesn’t feel quite right.

Materials: Old photos (black and white works well), clippings from old magazines, and new, modern materials like bright, glossy paper, a selfie you’ve printed, or a screenshot from your phone.

The Process: Create a collage that combines old and new. Place a black and white photo of an old street scene inside a modern building, or paste a digital image onto a vintage postcard. By clashing these two eras, you create a visual metaphor for the unsettling feeling of déjà vu, a sense that you’re inhabiting a familiar space that has somehow been altered.