Joana Vasconcelos invades Le Bon Marché store in Paris with monumental embroidered creature 'Sim

Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos has taken over Parisian department store Le Bon Marché with "Simone", a two-part monumental airborne creature composed of handmade woolen crochet, fabrics, ornaments, inflatables and LED. titled branco luz, the exhibition takes place until the 24th march, displaying the otherworldly, white-hued piece beneath the parisian department store’s central skylight and in the window displays.

A reference to two french activist female figures – Simone De Beauvoir and Simone Weil – the piece comes to join Joana Vasconcelos‘ valkyries series, which she has been creating since she was 15 years old, part of nordic mythology, the powerful goddesses are reinterpreted in Vasconcelos’ work through inflatable pieces layered in a variety of fabrics and embroidery. the dramatically-proportioned creature suspended from the central skylights of Le Bon Marché wraps around the store’s escalators and blends into the space, adding a baroque element typical of the artist’s work.

The creature-like artwork, titled Simone, wraps around the department store’s escalators and hangs beneath its famed central skylights.