Claire Hénault’s Le zodiaque au féminin (The Feminine Zodiac) transforms the twelve signs into a playful and often erotic bestiary of women, animals, mythological figures and fantastic creatures. Rather than illustrating the conventional attributes of astrology literally, Hénault uses each sign as a starting point for an imaginative drama – Taurus becomes Europa accompanied by Zeus in the form of a bull; Leo the lion becomes an elegant cat-like figure; Sagittarius appears as an Amazon with her bow; and Pisces becomes a pair of entwined mermaids.

The series displays many of the qualities that distinguish Hénault’s work – an assured and delicate line, elaborate hairstyles and costumes, graceful female forms, and a fascination with the ambiguous territory between the human and the fantastic. Her monochrome and sepia-toned compositions have a distinctly old-fashioned, almost dreamlike quality, while the eroticism is playful rather than overt.

There is a strong sense of theatricality. The figures inhabit their own miniature worlds, whether confronting strange creatures, emerging from water or wielding weapons. As contemporary critics have observed of Hénault’s work, masks, costumes, symbols and the human figure frequently coexist in an atmosphere somewhere between carnival, dream and the unconscious.

Here are the titles of the twelve plates:

L’assaut/Bélier (The Charge/Aries, 21 March–19 April)
Europe/Taureau (Europa/Taurus, 20 April–20 May)
Gem’ailité/Gémeaux (Twin Wings/Gemini, 21 May–20 June)
La lune rousse/Cancer (Russet Moon/Cancer, 21 June–22 July)
Féline/Lion (Feline/Leo, 23 July–22 August)
Oh !/Vierge (Oh!/Virgo, 23 August–22 September)
Ambivalence/Balance (Ambivalence/Libra, 23 September–22 October)
Parade/Scorpion (Parade/Scorpio, 23 October–21 November)
L’Amazone/Sagittaire (The Amazon/Sagittarius, 22 November–21 December)
Au départ/Capricorne (Departure/Capricorn, 22 December–19 January)
Le partage des eaux/Verseau (Watershed/Aquarius, 20 January–18 February)
Sirènes/Poissons (Mermaids/Pisces, 19 February–20 March)