Ernesto Neto: Le La Serpent: Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, Paris

For its tenth art exhibition in January, Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche invited Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto to take possession of the premises. His only constraint was working around the color white, in reference to the month of White initiated by Aristide and Marguerite Boucicaut, founders of Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in the 19th century.

The exhibition Le La Serpent consists of several monumental works, made in crochet and created from his studio in Rio de Janeiro. Under the central glass roofs, crossing the escalator, on the second floor and in the windows of the rue de Sèvres, rue du Bac and rue de Babylone, the artist delivers his joyful and spiritual interpretation of the founding myth of humanity, in Western culture, through the essential figures of Eve, Adam and the Serpent.

On the second floor of the store, Ernesto Neto also offers a moment of mediation, inviting viewers to draw on the walls or to sing to the rhythm of the song he composed for the occasion. The artist’s work is designed as a total immersive experience, engaging visitors' senses in an intimate dialogue with art where look, touch, smell and hearing meet.

Thomai Tsimpou, writes further on the presentation:

Neto describes the installation as an opportunity for visitors to connect deeply with their senses, noting, "I want to remind people that they have a body—that they can feel it. Scents activate memory and help us reconnect with our own essence."

The title "Le La Serpent" reflects Ernesto Neto’s intention to challenge gender norms and celebrate feminine origins. In Portuguese, the word for serpent is feminine, which the artist aligns with Eve’s pivotal role in the Genesis story. By combining the French articles ‘le’ and ‘la’, Neto alludes to the union of Adam and Eve, positioning the serpent as a divine figure transcending gender—a bearer of life and wisdom.

 Ernesto Neto, Installation view at Le Bon Marché (LBM), Paris, 2024. Photo by Stephane Aboudaram.