Les EpouxP

The artist duo Pascale and Damien Peyret, known collectively as Les EpouxP, have been invited to create a series of works as part of the Gestes – arts et savoir-faire en Occitanie program. Based in Puylaroque in the Quercy-Caussadais region since 2020, they develop work closely tied to the local area, local craftsmanship, and community dynamics. For this project, they are adopting the techniques and methods of hatmakers to design an installation titled À l’ombre du merveilleux, consisting of a dozen ceremonial parasols, known as “ombrellinos.”

To enrich their approach, the artists are training in straw hat-making with the “Chapeau Caussade” association and participating in weaving workshops led by the “La Paillole de Septfonds” association. These experiences allow them to discover the collective and collaborative dimension of these artisanal practices. Appreciating this sense of community, they incorporate it into their own creative process by regularly opening their studio for moments of sharing: musical siestas, screenings, or gatherings with the public.

The resulting works take the form of sculptural parasols crafted from braided straw, an iconic material that has made the hat-making workshops of Septfonds and Caussade famous. Inspired by the ombrellino—an object found in many cultures and used in processions to protect or honor—these parasols serve here as vehicles for a poetic and critical reflection on the contemporary world. Each piece embodies a specific intention: reconciliation with nature, invocation of rain, or resistance to forms of surveillance, as exemplified by the Ombrellino Argos Panoptes.

Through this installation, Les EpouxP extend the artisanal tradition while shifting it toward a symbolic imagination.

Events

Les Estivales du chapeau de Caussade
Featuring Saba Niknam and Les ÉpouxP
July 16–19, 2026

Festival Bleu Trompette Street Performance
Les ÉpouxP Montpezat-de-Quercy
July 23–26, 2026

Full program: www.gorges-aveyron-tourisme.com

Project partners: PETR du Pays Midi-Quercy, Tarn-et-Garonne Departmental Council, Quercy Caussadais Community of Communes, Quercy-Caussadais Tourist Office, Caussade Town Hall, Les Estivales du chapeau de Caussade, La Paillole de Septfonds, the Console association of Labastide-de-Penne

Biography

Pascale Peyret (born in 1962 in Lyon) and Damien Peyret (born in 1961 in Lyon) form the artist duo Les EpouxP. Their artistic collaboration began in 2016, during a carte blanche exhibition at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace. Since then, they have been developing a joint body of work that explores the materiality of the image, the relationships between past and present, and the memory of objects, places, and living things. Pascale Peyret, whose practice ranges from photography to installation, explores visual devices that blend obsolete technologies with organic phenomena. Damien Peyret, meanwhile, comes from a documentary background, combining photography and video, particularly around rituals and territories.

Together, they conduct research in various archival collections, examining the phenomena of burial, concealment, and resurgence. Their work, both hybrid and rich, plays on contrasts and correspondences to offer new perspectives on our relationship with the world.

Gestes - arts et savoir-faire en Région Occitanie

The Abattoirs’ Gestes -Arts et savoir-faire en Occitanie program explores the work of artist-craftspeople who are reinventing the relationship between making and materials, while mapping the region’s traditional skills. The invitations extended to artists Saba Niknam and Les EpouxP to explore the hat-making tradition in the Quercy Caussadais region are part of this program.