Benoît Piéron's Slumber Party is the first book by the French artist, published on the occasion of his 2023 commission at Chisenhale Gallery, London. Continuing his practice of applying a vital softness to the hard spaces of the hospital, this new publication is inspired in both form and content by waiting room magazines as a site of intervention and diversion. Installation views accompany a visual essay by Piéron documenting the processes behind the commission. A series of activities have been devised by artists ClayAD, Paul Maheke, Roxanne Maillet and Piéron. Each invites the reader to either draw on or rip out pages to help pass the time; making and remaking the book anew for each reader.
The book considers how to transform the often stale or distressing atmosphere of a medical waiting room with a sense of possibility and renewed imagination. These activities are accompanied by texts from Chisenhale Gallery’s Director Zoé Whitley, the exhibition’s curator Oliva Aherne, and ClayAD, as well as a conversation between Piéron and artist Paul Maheke that traverses subjects from the fallibility of healthcare and the work of Félix González-Torres, to the allure of vampires and soft toys.
This publication is made possible through the generous support of Lead Supporter, Fondation Pernod Ricard, and Headline Supporters, Fluxus Art Projects and The Clare McKeon Charitable Trust with additional thanks to the Chisenhale Gallery Publishing Supporters’ Circle, and Galerie Sultana.
