At the intersection of play, poetry and science fiction, the exhibition The Monkey and the Clay brings together nine international artists who explore the theme of collaboration between species. Through fable and imagination, the exhibition sets natural, human and technological productions in dialogue, sketching out new forms of alliances with the living world. Presented within a scenography evoking the forest, these hybrid works—installations, films, sculptures and sound pieces—contribute to a broader conversation on collective transformation, invoking concepts ranging from ecological compensation to eco-futurism.

‘We must help one another; it is the law of nature.’
The Donkey and the Dog

Collective exhibition with : Tania Candiani (Mexico), AKI INOMATA (Japan), Bagus Pandega (Indonesia), Agnieszka Polska (Poland), Lin May Saeed (Iraq-Germany), Shimabuku (Japan), Jessica Warboys (United Kingdom), Trevor Yeung (Hong Kong), Robert Zhao Renhui (Singapore).

Guest Curator : Emilie Villez
Exhibition Design : Atelier CRAFT
Graphic Design : Théo David Gehin

In order to better coexist within a ‘more-than-human’¹ world, human beings are learning to redefine their place within the ecosystem. Drawing on both theoretical debates and practical experimentation, contemporary artists increasingly position themselves not as conquerors of nature, but as collaborators.

Reflecting its title which embodies an interaction between the animal and the mineral, The Monkey and the Clay is permeated by the concept of interspecies interdependence, following ecological currents of thought that decentre the human. Challenging the notion of human exceptionalism and dominance over non-human species, the term ‘more-than-human’ is used across the humanities and social sciences to mark a rupture with hierarchical understandings of life.

This entanglement – animal, vegetable, mineral, atmospheric – describes a complex web of relations where no entity exists in isolation, and where every action ripples through a multitude of interconnected beings. The evolution of the word ‘ecology’ itself reveals this shift: while scientists originally defined the term as the study of interactions between living organisms and their environment, it gradually morphed into a commitment to the conservation of territories and species, before becoming a political necessity in the 1970s.

Influenced by the avant-garde positions of Land Art, environmental activism, and non-Western holistic thought, contemporary artists are pursuing more horizontal relationships, even envisioning co-creation with the non-human. Yet these collaborative bonds are complex, often unpredictable, and occasionally verge on instrumentalisation. How can we be certain of their reciprocity?

The exhibition explores these questions through artistic practices that reframe, and even bring a sense of play to, our modes of production and coexistence.

The works on display defy traditional representations of nature; rather than offering solutions, they seek to foster alternative ways of thinking. To mend fractured links, these artists engage in a process of immersion and listening, raising questions of proximity and kinship (Tania Candiani, Shimabuku) and the role of chance within the co-creative process (AKI INOMATA, Jessica Warboys, Trevor Yeung). Striving to counter fatalism, the exhibition highlights practices that cultivate a political and ecological imagination: some offer counter-narratives (Robert Zhao Renhui, Lin May Saeed), while others construct speculative fictions through technological tools (Agnieszka Polska, Bagus Pandega).

¹ The term first appeared in David Abram’s The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World (1996). French translation: « Comment la terre s’est tue. Pour une écologie des sens  , Ed. La Découverte, 2013

From left to right – © Aurélien Mole
First Concert video and Percutor 2020 – Tania Candiani. Courtesy:  Tania Candiani Studio
River Painting, Charente, 2026 – Jessica Warboys. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Gaudel de Stampa
Earth to Earth (Terres-de-Haute-Charente), 2026 – Trevor Yeung. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Joseph Allen

As an extension of the exhibition The Monkey and the Clay – dedicated to interspecies relations – the Fondation has invited Studio BehaghelFoiny to conceive a hybrid space: The Planctonarium.

Designed as a dedicated hub for public engagement and situated at the end of the exhibition circuit, this immersive environment invites visitors to embrace a slower pace and extend their visit. Comfortably appointed, the space fosters a spirit of reading and relaxation, while simultaneously providing a dedicated setting for participation in artistic workshops.

This multifaceted space showcases the work of emerging designer Antoine Behaghel and his ongoing research into ‘Chlorophyllian Artifices’: a dive into the microscopic world of phytoplankton blooms. This vernal biological phenomenon is characterised by the sudden proliferation of phytoplankton in the ocean, regenerating the atmosphere we breathe through the photosynthesis performed by these microorganisms. Within this installation, the silhouettes of phytoplankton are reinterpreted and magnified, embodied as objects levitating within a chromatic atmosphere; the work submerges us in the oceanic ‘water column’, a space where above and below, the intimate and the distant, begin to dissolve.

The exhibition presents a series of ornamental pieces crafted by the designer using a wide array of artisanal techniques, including porcelain, tapestry, paper, and 3D printing. Beneath these suspended, luminous forms, the ‘Microscopists’ Table’ invites visitors to observe phytoplankton through a microscope and take part in hands-on artistic workshops.

Antoine Behaghelb – recipient of the 2024 COAL Student Prize for Art and Environment – will undertake a production residency at the Fondation in the autumn of 2026. Continuing his research in collaboration with the Marais d’Yves nature reserve (Charente-Maritime), he will develop a new series of glass works within the Fondation’s workshops. These pieces will be integrated into the exhibition upon their completion. Finally, he will lead a signature artistic workshop, ‘Ordinaire Extra!’, toward the end of the year.