Canadian artist Larissa Fassler, whose practice involves empirically mapping public spaces in order to visually expose the relationships between these spaces and those who frequent them, was invited to conduct her research at the Musée d'Orsay, in anticipation of the major renovation work planned by the institution to improve public access.

From September to November 2023, Larissa Fassler spent three months walking through the Musée d'Orsay every day. She began by mapping the museum using her own body as a measuring tool. Each space was thus reproduced in the form of a preparatory sketch drawn by hand.

On these drawings, she then traced the movements of people in the museum: a blue dot indicates where someone stopped; a dotted line shows their route, turning red when the atmosphere changed: when visitors seemed stuck, frustrated, tense, or agitated.

She recorded what she saw, heard, and noticed: snippets of conversation, body language, clothing, moments of friction or pause. Under the artist's watchful eye, a valuable snapshot of life within the museum unfolds, before major renovations improved circulation.