The human psyche influences almost every aspect of our life. From human emotions to our responses to the environment, this influences our lives from an early stage. French artist Julien Amouroux who works under the name Le Gentil Garçon has chosen to use the human psyche as the main focus for his latest exhibition that is showcased at Hermés Liat Towers.

The exhibition, ‘Smart Objects’, is a playful take on the subject matter and even has sees a schematic human head that stands at the main window of the store. The sculpture resembles a paper cut out that is folded in an intricate way that allows it to stand upright. Within, the Lyon-based artist has sectioned off areas of the head to resemble “cells” that are similar to what is found on a phrenology map. Each compartment showcases an Hermès object that is linked to small characters which as said to evoke the cerebral zones linked with poetry and humour.

The artist drew inspiration for his work from not one but several sources to create an insightful exhibition. The first is most obviously the busts that are used in the pseudomedical study of phrenology while also highlighting elements of 17^th century “mechanist representations” of the mind. The final source of inspiration comes from the illustrations that German doctor, popular science writer and infographics pioneer, Fritz Kahn, used to elaborate on complex scientific ideas.

“I realised that this idea of a playful representation of the human mind matched very well with the Hermés theme of this year: Sense of the Object. Any manufactured object is the result of a though, the materialisation of it. Concerning Hermès products, this thought is both linked to the memory and to the life of the creator of the company, and to a historic know-how” said the artist. He added “…Hermès products often hide very smart and fun tricks that you won’t discover at the first glance…We can say that they are smart objects, they’re the expression of a certain sense of both elegance and intelligence.”

The ‘Smart Objects’ exhibition will be on display from March 17 to June 2017 at the Hermès store at Liat Towers Singapore.