Photo Days has launched its first collaboration with the Chapelle Saint-Louis at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, presenting photographer Julie Balagué's powerful new series "Anatomie de l'invisible" (Anatomy of the Invisible). The exhibition explores the rarely discussed phenomenon of pregnancy denial through a social, political, and deeply sensitive lens that reflects how women's bodies are treated in modern society.
Over seven years, Balagué conducted extensive research with women who experienced this extreme physiological condition, which is often linked to past violence or deeply internalized social pressures. The artist gathered their testimonies, confronted them with visual imagery, and used photography to make visible what typically remains hidden from sight. Her work operates at the intersection of documentary photography and material experimentation, challenging the photographic medium itself by asking fundamental questions: How can we represent what escapes visibility? How can buried experiences be materialized through art?
Balagué's images, combined with written texts and mobile exhibition devices, invite viewers to shift their perspective in both physical and mental ways. The presentation at the historic Pitié-Salpêtrière chapel creates a powerful resonance with the site's memory and troubled past. Founded under King Louis XIV, the Salpêtrière was historically an institution for confining poor, ill, or so-called "hysterical" women, and the church itself served as a stage for the silent history of controlling women's bodies.
By installing "Anatomy of the Invisible" in this historically significant location, Photo Days has chosen to transform the space into one dedicated to voices, listening, and artistic expression. This represents a powerful gesture that links historical memory with contemporary creation, allowing women who were once rendered invisible to reclaim their rightful place in society.
The Chapelle Saint-Louis, located at the heart of the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital (APHP), provides a cultural heritage setting that remains relatively unknown to the general public. The church was built under King Louis XIV, first by architect Louis Le Vau and later completed by Libéral Bruant. The structure is notable for its distinctive Greek-cross floor plan and features a central octagonal dome that rises 60 meters high above the choir.
The exhibition is supported by CulturFoundry, an association of art lovers and enthusiasts dedicated to promoting living creation and contemporary artistic works. "Anatomy of the Invisible" runs from November 6 through December 12 at the Chapelle Saint-Louis de l'Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, located at 83 boulevard de l'Hôpital in Paris's 13th arrondissement. The exhibition offers free entry and is open daily from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, with additional information available at photodays.paris.
