Paradis fantastique is an adventure that in a way foreshadows the Sravinsky Fountain and the Chateau-Chinon Fountain. It is interrupted at the outset because Niki falls ill for the first time while working on the sculptures because of gas fumes from the heated polystyrene. She returned just in time to find herself in a conflict between the two artists and Pierre Bordas, president of the French pavilion, who objected to the excessive size of the sculptures. What remains of this gigantic work is at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm where it was transferred in 1971, along with a poster by Niki de Saint Phalle entitled Paradiset Moderna Museet, Stockholm, after being exhibited at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, then in Central Park in New York for a year, it was offered by the two artists to the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, considered to be her hometown since this paradise is directly inspired by Hon/Elle. Rehabilitated thanks to Jean and Dominique de Ménil, repainted by the two artists, this ensemble, to which a fountain has been added, now adorns a park near the museum.

Photos Credits : Asa Lunden ©Niki De St Phalle - Jean Tinguely - ADAGP 2023