Annette Messager's Unsettling Art Takes Over Villa Medici

Annette Messager, a major European artist who won the Golden Lion at the 2010 Venice Biennale, presents her exhibition at Villa Medici in Rome, curated by Chiara Parisi as part of the 'Une' cycle. The show explores the Freudian concept of the uncanny—the familiar made frightening. Messager states, 'For me, everything that is familiar is unsettling.' Her works incorporate fragmented bodies, stuffed animals, and domestic objects, addressing themes of femininity, memory, and tenderness. Highlights include a wallpaper decorated with small uteri in Balthus's former studio, a long hairpiece swinging from Giambologna's bronze Mercury, and a fountain of plush snakes. Inside, 'Eux et Nous, Nous et Etx' (2000) features hybrid creatures, while 'Histoire de traversins' (2004) uses striped pillows evoking Auschwitz uniforms to create soft architectures. The exhibition runs at the French Academy in Rome.