A Nine-Foot Fish Tank in Paris Wants to Be Your Therapist

Ever wanted to lie down in an art gallery, plug in some headphones, and gaze at 150 kissing fish? Good news, Paris has you covered. Artist Ariana Papademetropoulos has just unveiled "Glass Slipper" at Thaddaeus Ropac, an exhibition that's less about looking and more about feeling.

Papademetropoulos clearly decided that a traditional art show was far too pedestrian. Instead, she's transformed the high-ceilinged gallery into a "ritual space," complete with themes of water, portals, and forces you can't quite see. Because apparently, that's where we are now.

Dive In, Literally

Visitors are greeted by paintings of dry-cleaned dresses, which, if you think about it, is a very specific kind of absence. Then, in the main gallery, you'll find a glass coffin surrounded by canvases featuring chairs floating in ambiguous landscapes. Are they rising? Falling? The artist isn't telling, which is precisely the point.

But the real star of the show — or at least, the most aquatic — is the nine-foot-wide aquarium downstairs. It’s home to 150 freshwater kissing fish. Papademetropoulos originally wanted 1,000, but apparently, even art has tank capacity limits. She hopes this aquatic cohabitation encourages a meditative state, perhaps helping you forget about that stack of dry cleaning waiting at home.

To enhance the experience, the French electronic duo Air composed a three-minute soundtrack. Papademetropoulos describes it as a journey into deeper ocean levels, completing the artwork. She calls the whole setup a "therapy device," inspired by Korean spa rituals. Because if anything can cleanse and transform, it's a giant fish tank with ambient music.

Fairy Tales and French Psychics

True to its "Glass Slipper" title, the exhibition winks at fairy tales, specifically a rather esoteric version of The Wizard of Oz. It turns out author Frank Baum was a theosophist, and Papademetropoulos is here for the blend of Hollywood glamour and new-age mysticism. She also tips her hat to films like Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast for continuing to spark imagination – and possibly, the idea of talking furniture.

Upstairs, vintage phone booths serve as portals, each framed by a shell, because shells are, naturally, portals to the ocean. Lift the receiver, and you'll hear ocean sounds, recorded with the help of a French psychic named Yaguel Didier. Apparently, Didier's visions of rose petals and fish eerily aligned with Papademetropoulos's art, despite knowing nothing about it. Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying.

Papademetropoulos is clearly fascinated by the invisible, the meeting point of psychic and quantum fields. After all, mystery keeps art alive, much like the Mona Lisa's smile or trying to figure out a David Lynch movie. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go lie down and stare at something wet.