PARIS — A sperm whale appears to have beached on an embankment in the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Or maybe not.
A Belgian artists’ collective installed a very real-looking, life-size whale sculpture Friday alongside the Seine River, eliciting surprise and concern from tourists and Parisians alike.
Bart Van Peel, a member of the collective, said the installation is about raising environmental awareness and awakening “the ***** in everyone who still is puzzled about what is real and what is not.”
Just arrived in Paris and found a ******** whale! ??#captainboomercollective #whale #paris #whaleparis #notredame pic.twitter.com/JOY5pK2tfy
— Julien Kerduff (@julienkerduff) July 23, 2017
Cachalot Paris ! Rien de plus normal #captainboomer pic.twitter.com/89PUNJMGAX
— Stéphanie Basquin (@ba_stephe) July 22, 2017
Kim Landman from New York was among those taken aback, especially after Van Peel spun a tale describing how the whale got stuck under a city bridge.
Parisian Charles Jean was immediately skeptical, asking whether the whale had climbed onto the quay with a ladder.