Carapaces – exhibition of bronze beetles

For the first time, about thirty bronze sculptures by French sculptor François Chapelain-Midy are displayed in Paris, in the Grand Tropical Greenhouse at the Jardin des Plantes of the Museum of Natural History. The exhibition is called ‘Carapaces et Sortilèges’ – Shells and Spells – and is all about beetles, and a few other insects.

Divided into the four greenhouses in the garden, the sculptures are hidden amongst the tropical foliage. The sculptures are in a range of sizes from 250 centimetres (98 inches) to a few centimetres.

François Chapelain-Midy (1937-2007) was a visual artist who practiced taxidermy and restoration of minerals and art. He then worked as a decorator for theatres and museums. At the same time, he created sculptures inspired by nature, and insects in particular.

A staunch defender of nature, François Chapelain-Midy questioned the place of humans on the Earth: "Man thinks he is a superior being, he must be put back in his place," he said.

The exhibition continues from 3 October 2019 to 6 January 2020.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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