Annette Messager's Animals Take Revenge at Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

Annette Messager presents a new exhibition, "Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps," at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris from April 14 to September 20. The show explores animality through taxidermy, stuffed toys, and everyday objects. Messager's works, such as "La Revanche des animaux" (2019-2021), depict animals reclaiming urban space, with a tilted Eiffel Tower and stuffed heads clinging to monuments. The installation "Fables et récits" (1991) stacks books with stuffed animals observing from above. "Mes transports" (2012-2013) features body fragments on wheeled carts. Messager also displays phrases on Japanese paper, like "avoir du flair" and "poser un lapin." The artist's last Paris exhibition was in 2018 at the Institut Giacometti. She cites early influences from post-war Berck, where people transformed shells into decorations, and from the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, where Goya's "Vieilles" made her question aging. A taxidermist once criticized her for dressing a male parrot in a robe. The exhibition includes a mirror piece that superimposes viewers with animals.