La femme aux bras poissons

With artworks by Pauline Barzilaï, Marie Bette, Rose-Mahé Cabel, Nicole Claveloux, Joris Creuze, Pauline Curnier-Jardin, ludovic hadjeras, Jenna Kaës, Clovis Maillet, Nitsa Meletopoulos, Hatice Pinarbaşi, Eva Pelzer, Théophile Peris, and Birgit Rathsmann. Curator: Adeline Lépine.

In Montbéliard, as you climb the rocky outcrop leading to the castle, you are greeted by a coat of arms adorning the entrance gate. At the top of this coat of arms, you’ll notice a crest depicting a crowned female figure whose arms have been replaced by fishes. Rare in heraldry, this depiction is part of a broader family of female busts that are sometimes armless or whose arms are replaced by various types of appendages. Here, the fishes are two inverted and facing sea bass (bar in French) in gold, which refer to a play on words used to designate the coat of arms of the Counts of Montbéliard, descendants of the Counts of Bar since 1038.

Colored emblems governed by the rules of heraldry—known as coats of arms—emerged in Western Europe during the 12th century. In the context of a feudal society where knights competed in tournaments, this system of symbols was intended to identify individuals, families, and lineages, as well as communities and institutions. Traces of the sea basses alone in Montbéliard’s heraldry can be found in numerous documents from this period as the canting arms of the county of the same name. The crest, however, did not appear until 1340 on a seal of Henri de Montbéliard, Lord of Montfaucon, and would enjoy a long legacy, as it was incorporated into the coat of arms of the Countess of Montbéliard, Henriette d’Orbe-Montfaucon, who, through her marriage to Prince Eberhard IV of Württemberg, passed the crest on to this German aristocratic family. Finally “the woman with fish arms” is also featured on the coat of arms of the city itself.

The rules of heraldry developed over several decades, and even today it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when they first appeared. One hypothesis is that this system of symbols was inspired, at least initially, by other pictorial and symbolic representations of the time, particularly those derived from Roman art. Art historian Jurgis Baltrušaitis suggests that the attire of knights—and more specifically, the design of their helmets featuring crests—represents the fantastical figure of the grylle.

Hybrids of women and fish, in particular, have been a source of inspiration since antiquity for the observations of the most discerning naturalists, as well as for the imagery that artists and poets love to evoke. In folklore, there are numerous tales featuring bodies transformed in and by the river. In Franche-Comté, a figure contemporary to this crest is the Vouivre: alternately a woman-snake, a woman-fish, or a winged serpent, she, like Melusine, maintains a connection to the river and the marshes—the environment that triggers her metamorphosis. In Montbéliard, she guards a treasure, a ruby, which she sometimes wears on her forehead. Female figures hybridized with fish or reptiles have commonly been associated in the collective imagination with the expression of the impure, the monstrous, or even the abominable. Women associated with (and considered to be) these animals have been subjected to exclusion or discrimination due to their supposedly unbridled sexuality, potential greed, and possible immoral behavior.

This paradox of interpretations inspired this group exhibition, which sets out to explore the mysteries of La Femme aux bras poissons through the works of fourteen contemporary artists and heritage objects. Taking as its starting point an examination of the concept of hybridity through contemporary issues, this figure serves as the anchor for a philosophical, aesthetic, and political reflection. Far from claiming to produce scientific knowledge, the exhibition functions as a framework for thought that allows us to explore new forms of engaging with heritage and to open up alternative imaginaries capable of producing new ways of existence inspired by the multiplicity of living beings.