The exhibition “Hypersoma” by artist Chloé Vanderstraeten invites visitors to wander through a collection of objects: books, clocks, clothing, glasses, computers, and chairs. All of these objects reflect the ways in which humans seek to measure the body, expand their perceptual capabilities, and organize knowledge in order to situate themselves within their environment.

Chloé Vanderstraeten begins with technical and scientific drawings, which she interprets and sculpts into three-dimensional forms using paper as her medium. Her latest works evoke the living through the depiction of bodies in transformation (Les Mues I and II ( 2021–2026) and La peau des os ( 2024)). With the *Colonnes* series, begun in 2025, a shift in scale becomes apparent, as if the forms were gradually seeking to break free from their anatomical references. More recently, the use of metal has introduced a new dimension, associated with mechanics, which contrasts with the softness and analog quality of paper. This evolution in her work marks the transition from the organ to the prosthesis, signifying a transfer of the body’s (soma’s) (hyper)capabilities and potentialities to the tool.

Made of paper, cardboard, and metal, the six sculptures in the “Hypersoma” exhibition are placed on the floor or suspended by self-supporting structures. The autonomy of these works—which stand on their own—stems from the unique treatment of paper as a material. In her work, paper is no longer merely a medium: it becomes a structure that creates architecture devoid of function. The techniques of folding, cutting, and assembling—borrowed from craftsmanship and inspired by the observation of plants—bring into play processes of material transformation. Her pieces compose a score of gestures that reveals the physical and functional relationship we maintain with objects and the way in which they shape our experiences. Thus, the sculpture *Ordinateur* illustrates the extension of our cognitive abilities into the machine: what do we entrust to it, and how does this delegation transform the way we think and act? Similarly, *Les lunettes* serves as a clue for questioning the limits of vision mediated by the instrument and the gap between what the subject perceives and what is presented to them.

In the exhibition space, viewers engage with the works and their physical properties. The layers, curved folds, and variations in thickness appeal to both sight and touch—much like *Le livre que l’on peut manipuler*. Arranged in strata, their materiality evokes the cycle of gain and loss that has characterized, throughout the ages, the ambivalent relationship between the body and the tool.

Jeanne Turpault
Exhibition Curator