Self Love” exhibition – Learning to love yourself without smoking

With this free ephemeral exhibition of works by Maxime Curchod, immerse yourself in a world where cigarettes are used differently.

Let yourself be guided by this story, which illustrates the gradual letting go experienced by everyone who sets out to stop smoking.

In collaboration with
Smoke-Free Month
At Impact Hub Lausanne, the “Self Love” exhibition aims to illustrate the ephemeral nature of all things, as well as the reality of the thousands of participants in Tobacco-Free Month 2023.

Discover powerful visual stories that echo the daily lives of thousands of people who are deciding to quit smoking together in November 2023.

From November 1 to November 30, 2023, each day, a work of art will disappear from these locations, gradually restoring its authentic form and identity – and symbolizing the gradual removal of cigarettes from their daily lives, underlining their progress towards a tobacco-free lifestyle, until they are completely free of them.

> Opening of the “Self Love” exhibition & Apéro; Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 6-9pm

Register here

> Guided tours every Wednesday in November at 6pm, followed by a cigarette-throwing contest with the bar open 🙂

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The exhibition also features various participative and co-creative workshops, allowing you to keep a written and artistic record of your journey. The artist will be on hand to demonstrate how cigarettes can be reinvented and used differently:

> Participatory workshop – Transformation; Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 6 to 8 p.m.

Register here

Come along with your last pack of cigarettes and turn them into the work of your choice. All equipment, except cigarettes, is provided.

> Co-creative workshop – One Way; Wednesday, November 1, 2023, from 5 to 6 p.m.

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Come and experience the power of the words we write to ourselves. Demands, messages of encouragement or simply an expression of your emotions, leave your mark on the reproduction of the “One way” artwork. All equipment is provided on site.

“Art Statement

As a self-taught creator of unique objects and creations, my passion lies in the prevention of addictions, particularly smoking. I draw my inspiration from everyday life and the ordinary objects that surround me. By observing people, I try to find different approaches to this subject.

I firmly believe that there are other ways of living and interacting with this product. Although I can’t change others, I can show them my perspective.

My main aim is to convey a positive and joyful message through humor-filled creations. My aim is to counter the anxiety-inducing messages on cigarette packets, which often only increase stress and encourage consumption. I’m convinced that prevention is most effective when it arouses positive emotions. My aim is to encourage reflection and action by changing people’s perception of smoking. I’m committed to prevention and the promotion of a new model to follow.

Biography of Maxime Curchod

The people around him who smoked when he was young often went out on the balcony to indulge in this activity, isolating themselves from the others. It seemed strange and intriguing to him. He was particularly fascinated by the design of the little object that smokers put in their mouths. Out of curiosity, he once took a cigarette out of a packet to examine it more closely, eager to keep one for himself, even if he wasn’t allowed to. Like many children, he had already tried to make a semblance of a cigarette by rolling out a sheet of paper and lighting it to imitate adults.

Today, he knows that the adage “Do as I say, not as I do” never works, because human beings are naturally inclined to imitate what they see around them. So, one day, at the age of 8, he picked up a cigarette butt from the ground and put it to his mouth to inhale his first puff of tobacco. Later, this experience will also raise his awareness of waste management, as there is a lot of garbage on the streets.

His grandfather smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. At the age of 50, he had his first heart attack and decided to quit smoking for good. His aunt and uncle also realized that they needed to be healthy to care for their children, and decided to give up this toxic product. The father of one of his childhood friends also suffered a heart attack.

For his part, he narrowly escaped death following a serious accident involving a six-meter fall, which left him with severe head trauma. He was placed in an artificial coma and underwent emergency surgery. The doctor who saved him died tragically between the two operations.

As a teenager, he started going out at night and drinking alcohol, which exposed him to smoking. However, he gradually became a stranger to himself: when he smoked, it wasn’t really him. As a result, he decided to put an end to the habit. Unlike his friends, who continued to smoke both in and out of the evening, he felt the need to make others aware of the risks associated with this product.

All these experiences have highlighted the omnipresent risks in our daily lives, which is why the artist is deeply committed to health promotion. So he set about creating artworks from cigarettes, with the aim of warning people about the dangers of smoking.