Vernis à ombres

Vernis à ombres (Varnish of Shadows) by Benoît Piéron at Galerie Sultana, Paris, explores themes of illness, altered perceptions of space, and the body. Drawing from the artist's experiences with hospitalization and illness, the exhibition features sculptures and installations that transform familiar environments like waiting rooms and laundries. Piéron utilizes DIY and craft techniques to create suspended moments of reverie, replacing harshness with softness and reintroducing desire and fantasy.

The exhibition also reflects Piéron's recent realization of their intersexuality, examining the political treatment of existences that deviate from norms. A central piece is an abstract pornographic film presented as a shadow theater, where mathematical objects, sex toys, and body casts interact. Surrounding lamp posts are modified to display glitter, creating a chaotic, luminous spectacle that distorts perception and challenges fixed boundaries and standards.