Etranges Exhibitions 2002 Benjamin Beaulieu [top] -

It was in this liminal space that —then a 24-year-old graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts, allegedly a recluse who wore modified night-vision goggles during public appearances—staged his only major series of shows. The title, Étranges Exhibitions , was deliberately oxymoronic. Exhibition implies clarity, a curated reveal. Étranges (strange) implies opacity, the uncanny, the repressed.

"Beaulieu is either a genius or a con man who accidentally summoned something. His artist statement said: ‘These exhibitions are étranges because they exhibit you.’ I felt naked. Not metaphorically. My coat was still on."

The final physical show was the most straightforward, and therefore the most disquieting. Beaulieu installed a series of taxidermied animals in glass vitrines. However, each animal had been surgically altered to include non-functional computer parts—a squirrel with a floppy disk drive for a ribcage, a raven whose skull contained a Pentium II processor. The official opening was scheduled for 7 PM. Beaulieu never arrived. He has not been seen in public since.

Among the documented pieces from this lost exhibition are works that blur the line between installation and psychological torment. La Cage à Tête (The Head Cage) is described as a birdcage hanging from the ceiling, empty save for a single barber’s mirror at its center. A small motor rotated the cage once per minute. In the exhibition’s phantom catalogue, Beaulieu offered a chilling explanation: “This is not a self-portrait. This is a prediction of how you will look at funerals” . etranges exhibitions 2002 benjamin beaulieu

The film was structured by a collaborative creative team behind the scenes:

Decoding Étranges Exhibitions (2002): The Cult Legacy of Benjamin Beaulieu’s Erotic Thriller

The film focuses on the contrast between public professional persona and private, often forbidden, sexuality. Carole is the "reserved secretary" by day and a performer by night. It was in this liminal space that —then

The most dramatic chapter of the Beaulieu story is its abrupt end. According to the myth, after September 2002, Benjamin Beaulieu vanished. No new films, no interviews, no death certificate, and most intriguingly, no digital footprint.

You may be thinking of a different artist or a smaller, private installation. However, in the public domain, the title is almost exclusively linked to the 2002 French production found on databases like

The complex corporate espionage plot was written by a diverse team including Céline Guyot, Martin Guyot, Philippe Carcout, Angela Tiger, Maud Kennedy, and Jif. Not metaphorically

as Angela, Rachel's confidante and accomplice in the stakeout Carole , the misunderstood secretary under suspicion Amanda , Rachel's highly trusted roommate Olivia Sylvain Cultural and Genre Context

: A visual artist and book designer active in grassroots and DIY art communities, though their work is more recent (starting the Charlottetown Zine Fest in 2022).

The Lyon show closed after two weeks. Four attendees reportedly sought psychiatric help for "intrusive nostalgia." Beaulieu vanished again, leaving behind the porcelain masks in a trash bin behind the warehouse.