Etranges Exhibitions 2002 Benjamin Beaulieu !link! Jun 2026

A birdcage hanging from the ceiling, empty except for a single barber’s mirror at its center. A small motor rotated the cage once per minute. In the catalogue, Beaulieu wrote: "This is not a self-portrait. This is a prediction of how you will look at funerals."

The "exhibition" was the experience of vertigo, reflected infinity, and dread. etranges exhibitions 2002 benjamin beaulieu

— The art world of the early aughts was obsessed with the digital y2k transition, glossy photorealism, and the nihilism of post-postmodernism. Yet, tucked away in a former glove factory in the 11th arrondissement, a quiet Canadian ex-pat named Benjamin Beaulieu staged what might be the most unsettling—and most forgotten—show of the year: Étranges Exhibitions . A birdcage hanging from the ceiling, empty except