During an initial immersive phase at the Hôtel-Dieu, Arnaud Adami shadowed and accompanied members of staff in their day-to-day roles for several months. This was followed by a creative phase in his workshop, using photos taken in the hospital.
Arnaud Adami focuses on the invisible in his artwork and strives to depict those who work in the shadows. Here, he pays tribute to the hospital staff: the men and women hidden beneath the scrubs and uniforms. His portrait of Jean-François, a locksmith at the Hôtel-Dieu, highlights the work of the technical teams, whose work at the hospital is vital yet often overlooked. With his painting Fanette-Urgence, he depicts public healthcare and its key role in providing care to those on the periphery.

By reinterpreting the conventions and techniques of classical painting, by depicting a medical scanner, with echoes of the 15th century painter Andrea Mantegna’s The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, and by using the still life form to amplify the everyday items used to provide hospital care, Arnaud Adami positions hospital staff as heroic figures of our society.

Program and exhibition designed by the Directorate of Patronage and Cultural Policy at the AP-HP.Centre - Université Paris Cité, in partnership with Manifesto and with the support of the Fondation AP-HP.
Scenography: Romane Jule