Unearthing the Uncanny: Benjamin Beaulieu’s “Étranges exhibitions” (2002)
The Montreal installation was the smallest but most psychologically dense. It occupied a former shoe repair shop, no larger than 400 square feet. Attendees recall a single, industrial bulb hanging from the ceiling, illuminating nothing but a heavy velvet curtain.
The film brought together a collective of prominent writers and creators from the French television ecosystem. etranges exhibitions 2002 benjamin beaulieu
Another piece, The Cabinet of Digital Curiosities , is said to have incorporated the era’s obsolete technology, such as CRT monitors, their flicker rates inducing a hypnotic or unnerving effect on viewers. Accounts describe attendees dressed in high-fashion silks that clung to their skin, moving “like ghosts through the humid haze,” while Beaulieu himself stood by the far wall in a heavy wool suit, “not a single bead of sweat on his brow,” watching with a “predatory stillness”.
Within the niche history of French late-night television, Étranges exhibitions stands as a definitive representation of the 2002 era. It reflects a historical window before the dominance of online digital media, a time when audiences relied on broadcast networks for specialized adult programming. By blending standard thriller tropes with erotic aesthetics, Benjamin Beaulieu created a distinct, slow-burn psychological narrative that continues to be archived and analyzed by cult cinema enthusiasts tracking the evolution of the genre. The film brought together a collective of prominent
At the center of this murmuring crowd stood Beaulieu’s installation, simply titled Chaleur (Heat). Another account places the exhibition in a converted boiler room near the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, a space aptly named La Chaudière (The Boiler). This location seems fitting, as critics have noted that for Beaulieu, the word “hot” in searches for his work likely refers not just to a sexual charge but to the literal, technical overheating of projections, lamps, and melting film stock—an artist working with materials pushed to their breaking point.
Two decades on, Benjamin Beaulieu’s 2002 project Étranges exhibitions still feels like a hidden doorway into the absurdist underbelly of early 2000s curatorial practice. For those unfamiliar, Beaulieu—better known today for his poetic installations and experimental publishing—created this series as a low-key, almost furtive intervention in how we frame “the strange.” Within the niche history of French late-night television,
Released in , Étranges exhibitions fit perfectly into the landscape of adult-oriented late-night French television dramas popularized during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Céline Guyot, Martin Guyot, and Philippe Carcout (adaptation) Runtime: 90 minutes Genre: Romance Language: French Production Company: Kerfaroc Films Angela Tiger as Rachel Jif as Carole Maud Kennedy as Amanda Illona as Olivia Pierre Mary as Sylvain Antonin Saint-Aubin as Laurent
"Cinema is the art of lying 24 times a second," Beaulieu remarked, adjusting a spotlight. "My work here is to lie only once, but to make that lie last forever. At Étranges Exhibitions, we are celebrating the 'strange.' I believe the strangest thing is not a monster, but the moment you realize the world around you is not what you thought it was. I try to capture that split second of doubt."
The film focuses on the contrast between public professional persona and private, often forbidden, sexuality. Carole is the "reserved secretary" by day and a performer by night.