This fall, Paris welcomes back one of its most evocative artistic voices. On September 6th, French artist Théo Mercier unveils his latest solo show, I Swallow Your Tears, at mor charpentier gallery, deepening his long-standing exploration of memory in contemporary art, decay, and the passage of time.
Exhibitions September: Théo Mercier will unveil ‘Snail Machines’ at mor charpentier
Part of the gallery’s exhibitions September program, I Swallow Your Tears presents a brand-new body of work titled Snail Machines. This series of sculptures marks a significant evolution in Mercier’s practice, in which ancient and classical forms—reminiscent of museum artifacts—are quietly and eerily overtaken by hyperrealistic snails. These slow-moving creatures inhabit and colonize surfaces: crawling over busts, pedestals, and plinths, they become uncanny intruders in the gallery space.
More than mere ornamentation, the snails serve as what Mercier calls “agents of time”—relentless in their progress, indifferent to human urgency. In this sculptural choreography, the boundary between the living and the inert collapses, leaving viewers suspended in a delicate tension between permanence and transformation. The works suggest that history is never static, and neither is our interpretation of it.
The sculptures were realized in collaboration with the renowned Rmn–Grand Palais workshops in Saint-Denis, known for their mastery in historical reproduction and material finesse. This collaboration lends an institutional gravitas to Mercier’s speculative vision, while also subtly critiquing the systems through which art and history are preserved.
As we count down to the upcoming exhibition, take a moment to step into the visionary world of Théo Mercier—where sculpture becomes a time machine and everyday objects reveal human stories. In our interview, he shares his thoughts on space as a living organism, the politics of materials, and his haunting new work, Skinless.