Lady Palm by Jean-François Fourtou
Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle Airport, France, February 2025
On a recent trip, I was at one of Air France’s lounges at CDG airport in Paris. This lounge is particularly elegant and designed around and for the comfort of the passengers ready to embark on a long flight. It almost feels like a retreat to ease the body before being transported at an altitude of 43,000 feet. The color theme is red; the lines are curved. Even the interior of the restrooms is padded. The ambience is on the silent side. The service is à la française.
Video © GAYOT.com
But I felt that there was an intrusion: an art piece called “Lady Palm” (2023), by French artist Jean-François Fourtou. I am wondering why Air France selected this sculpture. It is a tall and thin woman sitting on a table. She is dressed in a très ugly gray suit with a long skirt and a white blouse with no charm, wearing bulky black flat-heel boots. Her hands have been replaced by what seems to be yucca leaves, which for me are rather aggressive as they are long and sharp — enough to cut the skin.
I know the French invented the guillotine, but still…
Lady Palm has lost her head. It is a bush of araucaria leaves. You can live with missing limbs but not without your head. Why deny life to Lady Palm? Why are we exposed to a mutilated body? Is there not enough violence in the world already? Why make us face death before boarding a plane?
Maybe Fourtou has an issue with the mind, soul and spirit of humanity. He has been replacing heads in his art with tomato, turnip, artichoke, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, potato, bell pepper and pumpkin. But, ah yes, there is a debate whether vegetables have a soul or not.
By the way, when speaking around, I heard that I am not the only one disturbed by Lady Palm. Maybe a pair of red high-heel Louboutin might have introduced a touch of humor.
A very few are art critics, the rest of us are contemplators
Please, Air France, why don’t you show us beautiful things, just like the safety movie that is shown on board before taking off to high grounds? It is so classy and smart, with so many cross references, that I cannot help watching it every single time.
