Le Bon Marché has a long history of working with artists, and this season tapped Brazilian sculptor Ernesto Neto for a monumental in-store exhibition, titled “Le La Serpent.” Neto was given the design directive to create his installations in white, in honour of the household linen sales — known in France and the U.S as “white sales” — held the first month of each year. Working in white was a change for Neto, who is known for his colourful crochet pieces. It was a bit of an adjustment from placing his enormous installations against the white walls of galleries. Thus, he flipped the story of Adam and Eve — which he prefers to call Eve and Adam — and approached the ancestral tale as one in which the snake was not the source of evil.

“Le La Serpent” is in line with Neto’s previous works, which frequently call upon people to reflect on their relationships with ecosystems and the planet. Neto also acknowledged that the serpent features in creation myths across cultures, and has created an accompanying book, available on-site and by QR code, that delves into serpent stories around the world and which is translated into English, French and Portuguese.

His woven serpent wraps around the store’s central atrium from the main floor, with the tree of life sprouting under and rising to the ceiling. Elsewhere he occupies space on the second floor, as well as the windows facing Rue de Sèvres. Neto created the artworks in his studio in Brazil, before installing them in Paris. The opening event Tuesday night will be infused with Brazilian culture, including a contemporary music orchestra Onciem performing a piece with conductor Frédéric Blondy, Samba percussion performed by Ricardo Cotrim accompanied by dancers, and Huni Kuin indigenous musician Txanabané. Neto might be famous for his work in crochet, but he knitted it all together with music. The artist wrote, composed and recorded a song to share his interpretation of the serpent story, which will be available to all visitors to download. The exhibit will run until Feb. 23.