Not Your Average Forest Creature

"To hide is a pleasure, but never being found is a catastrophe."

D.W. Winnicott (author)

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Ever tried hiding something big? When it’s a surprise or a scandal, it’s not easy. When it’s a giant cyclops just outside Paris, it’s practically impossible.

That is, unless you’re artists Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely.

Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, "Cyclops", 1969-1991, Milly-La-Forêt, France. © 2016 Niki Charitable Art Foundation / ADAGP, Paris.
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Rewind to 1969. Saint Phalle and her soon-to-be husband Tinguely want to create an immense sculpture with 15 of their artist friends. They search long and hard for the perfect location, eventually buying a piece of land in a forest nearby.

It’s only after the sale that they get some bad news: they don’t have the right to build on their property.

Paris is approximately 40 miles north of Milly-la-Forêt. Illustration by Artips.

Desperate, they go to see the mayor. He advises them not to ask for official permission since it’ll surely get refused. Instead, he promises to turn a blind eye and tells the artists to start construction. Quietly.

So Saint Phalle and Tinguely continue with their monstrous project and keep it a secret…for 25 years.

Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, "Cyclops", 1969-1991, Milly-La-Forêt, France. © 2016 Niki Charitable Art Foundation / ADAGP, Paris.
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The 74-foot tall, one-eyed head called Cyclops is colossal. Made from a mix of metal, bricks, cement and mirrors, it weighs over 350 tons.

Sticking out of its mouth, a shiny slide forms the monster’s tongue. Inside, the head harbors a small theatre and acoustic sculptures. In place of its brain are a series of gears and machines pulled straight from Tinguely’s imagination.

Alas, the cyclops cannot hide in the forest forever. When some angry neighbors discover it in the 1980s, a battle begins.

In the end, to save the project, the artists donate Cyclops to the French government. Born in secret, the sculpture lives on as a public work on full display.