An exhibition of photographs by the controversial French novelist Michel Houellebecq, which opened in June at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris (Rester Vivant, until 11 September), includes bleak images of France and erotic depictions of women as well as pictures of his late Welsh corgi, Clement.
For visitors keen to take a cigarette break during the show, the author of novels such as Atomised and Platform has included a smoking room, which he describes as a “fraternal thought for my fellow addicts”.
Eurosceptic The writer’s feelings on Europe are also reflected in the show. For example, the work France #014 (1994) shows the word “Europe” carved out of concrete. Asked about the referendum in the UK on 23 June, which saw the country vote to leave the European Union, Houellebecq says the French are “as torn” as the English. “There’s both a coercive side and a rapid degradation process, which nicely sums up what I think about Europe,” he writes in the catalogue.
In addition, works by the Lyon-born artist Robert Combas and Vietnam-based Renaud Marchand are included in the show, along with two MRI scans of Houellebecq’s brain.
Houellebecq’s health has also come under the spotlight in Manifesta 11 in Zurich (until 18 September). As part of the biennial, the surgeon Henry Perschak gave Houellebecq a check-up, and visitors can see the results.