Photo : Mathieu Forget
Levitation. Mathieu Forget, 10 years of photography
Some sights make you question the laws of physics right in the heart of the city. Stroll by the historic tower to catch these stunning photographs where bodies seem to defy gravity, perfectly framed against the urban landscape.
Sur les grilles de la Tour Saint-Jacques (Paris 4th)
About
From November 16, 2026, to January 4, 2027, the exhibition Lévitation showcases a decade of work by artist Mathieu Forget on the railings of the Tour Saint-Jacques. Located at 88 rue de Rivoli, this open-air display features 44 iconic photographs capturing bodies in mid-air across various global landscapes. Each image, created without digital manipulation, explores the synergy between movement and architecture. This artistic experience is free of charge and open to all, inviting pedestrians to pause and observe the urban environment through the lens of gravity-defying grace and aesthetic suspension.
Through this exhibition, Mathieu Forget presents a selection of iconic photographs taken around the world. Each work testifies to a constant search for movement, composition, and the relationship between the body and its environment.
Installed on the railings of the Tour Saint-Jacques, the exhibition offers a meeting between heritage and contemporary creation. In this exceptional setting, the photographs dialogue with Parisian architecture and offer visitors a free, open, and accessible experience.
LEVITATION invites everyone to slow down, observe, and look differently. Because beyond physical performance, these images tell a universal aspiration: that of rising, if only for an instant.
Between earth and sky...
The Tour Saint-Jacques occupies a singular place in the Parisian landscape. An isolated monument in the heart of the city, it seems to emerge from the urban space to rise toward the sky.
This relationship between grounding and elevation is also at the heart of Mathieu Forget's work. Through his levitation photographs taken without digital manipulation, the artist captures that fragile moment when the body momentarily escapes the laws of gravity. His images stage a state of suspension that echoes the very presence of the Tour Saint-Jacques: a vertical architecture that defies the gaze and seems to float above the urban hustle and bustle.
Presented on the railings surrounding the monument, the photographs create a natural dialogue between heritage and contemporary creation. They invite passersby to look up, slow down their pace, and take a new look at the city. Because beyond photography, it is the same idea that connects the artist and the place: that of elevation as an aesthetic, physical, and poetic experience.
Exhibition path
The path brings together 44 photographs selected from Mathieu Forget's most striking works.
Taken on several continents over the last ten years, they testify to a work built around the same obsession: capturing the moment when the body seems suspended in space. Each photograph reveals a conversation between movement and its environment.
Architecture, landscape, light, and geometry become the partners of an ephemeral choreography.
The path thus invites you to explore several dimensions of the work:
• Movement as a universal language.
• The body as living architecture.
• Photography as a compression of time.
• Travel as a field of experimentation.
• Gravity as an artistic material.
Presented outdoors, the images enter directly into dialogue with the city. They offer visitors a free experience where the urban space itself becomes an integral part of the exhibition.
Our take on this event
Mathieu Forget takes over the railings of the Tour Saint-Jacques for a retrospective spanning ten years of his career. Entitled Lévitation, the exhibition brings together 44 standout works shot across multiple continents. The artist focuses on the fleeting moment where the body appears to escape gravity, crafting a visual choreography that interacts with light, geometry, and natural surroundings.
The Tour Saint-Jacques was chosen for its unique vertical presence, acting as an urban anchor that mirrors the artist's own fascination with elevation. Without the use of digital editing, the photographs capture a delicate state of suspension. This dialogue between the monument's historical architecture and contemporary creation creates an immersive experience that challenges the viewer's perception of space.
This open-air exhibition is entirely free to visit. It is on view from November 16, 2026, to January 04, 2027, located at 88 rue de Rivoli. It offers a unique opportunity for passersby to slow down and explore themes of human movement, travel, and the physical limits of the body as art.
