Chapter 8 - Paris and the Belle Époque

Summary

Where am I? From the vantage point of a small, pedestrian-only square (nowadays a popular selfie spot), a trio of visual oddities looms large. To the north is a modern-looking edifice with exterior escalators, electrics, plumbing and ventilation pipes. Opposite is a chaos of water-spurting sculptures, including a snake, a treble clef, a bowler hat, giant lips painted rouge, an elephant, some sort of avian creature and a red-headed mermaid with oversize breasts. Equally bizarre, to the west, is a huge graffitied face, a black-and-white self-portrait by the French street-artist Jean-François Perroy (he prefers ‘Jef Aérosol’). Two bulging eyes stare down at those paddling in the shallow water of the fountains, while a single finger, pressed against pursed lips, calls for silence: Chuuuttt! (Shhhhh!).