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Pierre the photographer and Gilles the painters met at a party in 1976. Since then, this artist duo portraits musicians. This exhibit explores their universe via their relationship to music. Here is a look at “Pierre et Gilles, Idols Factory”

• Idols Factory

Pierre and Gilles have been collaborated with young artists and international stars, from pop to hard rock, for more than forty years.

Le doigt de Dieu, EtinneDaho, 2017

Le buveur d’absinthe, Marc Almond, 1997

Pris, la nuit, Fifi Chachnil, 2019

Le grand amour, Marilyn Manson et Dita Von Teese, 2004

Un monde merveilleux, M – Matthieu Chedid,2008

Lilly Wood a Bamako, Lilly Wood compose de Nili Hadida et Benjamin Cotto, 2015

Inspired by the artist’s background and song lyrics, each representation tells a story.

Amphitrite, Nina Hagen, 1989

Kali, Nina Hagen, 1989

Crazy love, Conchita Wurst, 2014

Asian Venus, Momoko Kikuchi, 1991

Hence, I discovered that Kylie Minogue portrayed as St Mary Mackillop (1842-1909), Australia’s first Saint [Mary rode her country founding numerous schools and orphanages].

• Let it swing

This universe is a colorful mix of reality and fantasy. Pierre is taking the picture while Gilles embellishes it. Embark for a poetic stroll listening to songs associated with each portrait. I particularly enjoyed French music from the 80s and 90s. It was a delightful throwback to my younger years 😉

Fujiyama mon amour, Sylvie Vartan, 2017

Sylvie Vartan’s fan bedroom

Douce France, Nicolas Dax, 2017

Le petit bal, Quentin Bruhat et Izae, 2015

A love story, Victo Weinsanto and Guillaume Thor, 2018

Highlights

Altar of music

This altar of music is inspired by Pierre and Gilles’ art studio. Their imaginary world includes a television displaying video clips from the ’80s as well as numerous musicians’ relics like figurines and autographs.

Icons

Many musicians are represented as biblical figures. Inspired by their Catholic culture from childhood, Pierre and Gilles’ models are turned into icons.

La vierge aux serpents, Kylie Minogue et Pinto, Sebastien, Abdallah, Samuel, Nicolas, 2008

Saint Francois d’Assise, Masto, 1988

Plan your visit

• Exhibit on view from November 20th, 2019 to February 23th, 2020
• Location: Cité de la musique – Philharmonie de Paris, 221 avenue Jean-Jaurès 75019 Paris.
• Hours: 12pm-6pm Tuesday-Friday,  10am-8pm Saturday, 10am-6pm Sunday. Closed on Monday.
• Admission: 9 euros
• Duration: I spent 2 hours to discover it.
• Parking on-site (expensive) or street parking
• More information available at https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/fr/exposition-pierre-et-gilles

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