La Conciergerie is the only remaining section of the medieval palace of the Kings of France. Head out of your Hotel Louvre Marsollier towards the Seine and stand on any bridge. Do you see the two oddly Disneyworld-ish towers standing on the bank of the Ile de la Cité? This is it, the remains of a state prison dating back to the 7th century! Its most famous prisoner may have been Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1793…
Until March 11th, 2012, another type of prisoner is on display below the Gothic vault of the Conciergerie. In low-key lighting, surrounded by strange murmurs, the visitor strolls about a forest worthy of the Grimm brothers and Tim Burton together. This is Bêtes-off (Beasts-off), a one-of-a-kind exhibition about animals… in contemporary art. Without captions, explanations, or even titles, the visitor is left to reflect inwardly about the place of animals in our human world, and about our relationship to them. Three sections guide this reflection: “The animal is an Other”, “To live together”, “To become Animal”. Breathtakingly beautiful works are presented, in a variety of media.
It is a not an intellectual, but a sensory, instinctual appreciation of art that is offered to you in the Conciergerie. Open your eyes, ears and mind, and step into the forest!
