Photographer Mathis Benestebe presents his exhibition "La peine" (Sorrow) on the Triolet campus of the University of Montpellier.

[Press release] - Published on October 2, 2025 in Art & Culture, Press Room

The University of Montpellier will exhibit photographer Mathis Benestebe's end-of-residency work on the Triolet campus from October 14 (exhibition opening at 6:30 p.m.) until December 12, 2025. Entitled "La peine" (The Pain), the exhibition traces the artist's attempt to build a handmade space suit in response to his desire to flee Earth for a destination as yet unknown.  

Welcomed to the UM in September 2024 with a focus on the theme of "art/science," Mathis Benestebe is a 23-year-old photographer from Toulouse. A 2023 graduate of ETPA, his work revolves around intimacy, autobiography, and loss. Driven by experimentation with images, his artistic process focuses on exploring the feeling of restraint. His work was exhibited in 2023 at the Circulation(s) festival, and he was the winner of the third edition of the Prix Utopi·e.

A DIY space suit as a refuge from hostility

Set up in his studio on the Triolet campus, Mathis meticulously assembled, layer by layer, material by material, the handmade space suit that became the central element of this science fiction-inspired project. Conceived as a desperate performative gesture to escape Earth, this amalgam of fabrics and materials found here and there is above all a response to the inactivity and torpor caused by a world in decline.

"In this accepted despair, I choose to act alone, absurdly alone, but to act nonetheless."

A project rooted in the university

Alongside this construction work, which resulted in 39 self-portraits retracing the different stages of assembly and sewing, Mathis became involved in university life by organizing various photography workshops for students and staff. The UM community was thus introduced to film development, light painting, and Polaroid transfer techniques. Finally, the artist also chose to integrate students and staff directly into his work by having them pose for a series of uniform portraits presented in the form of a giant photo directory of what he calls "the last generation."

"So perhaps this effort to save ourselves will give rise to something more real."

This artist residency is supported by the Art & Culture Department – Campus Life Division of the University of Montpellier. It receives support from the DRAC Occitanie and is co-financed by the CVEC (Contribution vie étudiante et de campus).