Total: Martine Syms' supermarket-style exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations

A supermarket exhibition in the heart of a museum... No, we're not in an art gallery, but at Lafayette Anticipations, where you can discover the very first retrospective exhibition in France of the American artist Martine Syms. From October 16, 2024 to February 9, 2025, this cultural space is transformed into a new kind of concept store, where each visitor is invited to explore a total work of art, including art objects that you can buy.

Don't expect paintings or sculptures like you might find in a gallery... Here, the "supermarket" experience becomes a work of art, as you stroll through the "shelves" to discover notebooks, T-shirts with evocative messages or those dear to the artist, and other lanyards, all on sale, as if you were in a souvenir store, and at very affordable prices.

Martine Syms, born in Los Angeles in 1988 and a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Bard College, has forged an international reputation for her hard-hitting works. For this Paris retrospective, she has designed a hybrid space where art and commerce meet. Visitors can not only contemplate her creations since 2007, but also acquire objects developed in collaboration with various brands. The works are presented throughout the foundation, offering an immersive overview of her artistic career.

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Theexhibition is divided into several zones, imitating the different parts of a store: from sales areas to back offices, generally inaccessible to the public. This film-like staging allows us to rethink notions of desire, metamorphosis and identity. Martine Syms questions the daily rituals of commerce and their impact on our perception of ourselves and others. Visitors can interact with salespeople/performers, adding an interactive and performative dimension to the experience. The last room, the Security HQ, offers a new dimension to the experience, with live images of visitors strolling through the exhibition (no recording, rest assured).

Between intimate references and historical archives, Martine Syms explores the identities imposed by stereotypes and collective representations. Her work, often rooted in themes of spirituality and self-staging, is a profound reflection on the construction of identity. An opportunity to delve into the rich and complex universe of a renowned contemporary artist. Ready to discover her work at Lafayette Anticipations?