Paola Pivi Unleashes Horses at the Eiffel Tower for Stunning Artworks

Have you ever envisioned a group of purebred horses galloping across the floors of the Eiffel Tower? Neither have we—until now that is.

Italian artist Paola Pivi—she of the sailing donkey and the zebras in the snow—has conjured up once again an impossible visual poem and made it a reality.

For her ninth exhibition at Galerie Perrotin, aptly entitled “Yee-Haw,” Pivi has created a powerful and oneiric series of photographs—shot by Hugo Glendinning—that show a group of magnificent horses running wild through the Parisian landmark (see Eiffel Tower Closes due to Staff Walkout against Pickpocket Gangs).

Paola Pivi, Yee-Haw (Paris) (2015)
Photo: Courtesy Galerie Perrotin via Design Boom

Paola Pivi, Yee-Haw (Sleeping) (2015)
Photo: Courtesy Galerie Perrotin via Design Boom

Pivi’s oeuvre is broad and diverse, spanning performances, conceptual works, and large installations. Some of her most iconic works, however, stem from her ongoing photographic series which casts animals in everyday situations, teasing out the relationship between mythology, surrealism, and the absurd.

Paola Pivi, Yee-Haw (Si Imbizzarriscono) (2015)
Photo: Courtesy Galerie Perrotin via Design Boom

These include 84 goldfish flying on a passenger airplane in individual bowls, alligators frolicking in whipped cream in Florida, and (stuffed) polar bears covered in multicolored feathers popping up in commercial galleries and museums all over the world.

The “Yee-Haw” series is the result of a commission by Longines Paris Eiffel Jumping, an equestrian competition taking place in July that will use Pivi’s images for the event’s poster.

Paola Pivi, Yee-Haw (2015)
Photo: Courtesy Galerie Perrotin via Design Boom

 Paola Pivi’s “Yee-Haw” is on view Galerie Perrotin, 76 rue de Turenne, Paris, from June 4 – August 1, 2015.