What if animals could tell us more about ourselves than we realize? The Museum of Hunting and Nature, located in Paris's 3rd arrondissement, hosts a special exhibition dedicated to Annette Messager. Titled One swallow does not make spring, it runs from April 14 to September 20, 2026. This show brings together a collection of works that highlight the unique relationship the artist has always maintained with the animal figure. For the first time, this central theme in her work is the focus of a dedicated exhibition, featuring a journey through major installations, iconic pieces, and new creations.
Since the 1970s, Annette Messager has cultivated an artistic practice where everyday objects, humble materials, and popular cultural references engage in a dialogue with deeper existential themes. In this exhibition, her works resonate with the museum's permanent collections, forging a visual and symbolic dialogue centered on the animal kingdom — seen as a mirror reflecting human passions, their excesses, and ambiguities.
Taxidermy displays, plush toys, hybrid creatures, and reimagined objects create a world where humans and animals seem to swap roles. Annette Messager delves into the blurred boundaries between species, staging transformed figures that are strangely familiar and provoke questions about our identity, instincts, and perceptions. In this perspective, animals mimic us, caricature us, and ultimately reveal what we often prefer to ignore: our contradictions, desires, and faults.
The choice of the title, “One swallow does not make a spring”, adds a layer of allegory to the entire exhibition. Borrowed from common wisdom, this phrase becomes for Annette Messager a springboard to reflect on the fragile nature of our certainties, the temporary, the fleeting. The swallow, subtle yet expressive, transforms into a figure that is both poetic and critical, soaring over a series of works that appear playful but are deeply ambivalent.
The exhibition design alternates between large-scale works and more subtle interventions, almost hidden from view. This constant tension between the visible and the invisible, the monumental and the intimate encourages visitors to slow down and pay attention to the details. Some pieces invite closer inspection—reading, interpreting them—gradually revealing a personal visual language rooted in everyday life yet infused with symbolic meaning.
The works largely originate from the artist's own archives, integrated with pieces from the museum's collection. This approach creates an immersive experience, with each room crafting its own independent universe. The materials, language, and combined forms all contribute to a unique atmosphere, characterized by an aesthetic of ambiguity and dislocation.
As you move through the exhibition at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, it subtly invites you to reflect on what animals—whether real or imaginary—reveal about how we exist, observe, and define ourselves. The exhibition isn’t about proving a point; rather, it aims to shift your perspective, encouraging you to see things differently. If you're curious about how art explores the human connection to animals, this experience could unexpectedly open up a new space for thought.
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Dates and Opening Time
From April 14, 2026 to April 30, 2026
Location
Hunting and Nature Museum
60, rue des Archives
75003 Paris 3
Access
M°Arts et Métiers
Prices
Tarif réduit: €11.5
Plein tarif: €13.5
Official website
www.chassenature.org
More information
Open from Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Evening hours on Wednesdays until 9:30 p.m. (no late nights in July and August).
