There’s no way he’ll survive the love of his life. After the death of his wife Annie following a stroke, the artist Ben, real name Benjamin Vautier, decided to end his life this Wednesday, June 5. “Unwilling and unable to live without her, Ben killed himself a few hours later at home, in Saint-Pancrace, in the heights of Nice“, his children said in a press release posted on social networks. But before disappearing, the famous graphomaniac left a message both poignant and enigmatic, in which he spoke of his departure.
In this newsletter published this Monday, June 3 and exhumed by our colleagues from New Obsthe 88-year-old artist wrote: “I was asked to write what the end of the world will be like it’s already here look out the window watch TV look at yourself in the mirror and jump out the window.” Upsetting words which sound like a premonition after Ben’s death. As our colleagues recalled, the person concerned “never hid his fascination with the macabre“, to the point that the latter had already thought about the way he wanted to die. In January 1961, he told the press that “[s]we intend to [s]e crushed into the shape of a car wing by a press from the Renault factory, or [s]and have it flattened by a steam roller on a canvas which would be varnished by [s]a wife after [s]to death.”
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Ben, his moving declaration to his wife before her death: “I can’t do without her”
Married to Annie Baricalla for sixty years, the father of Éva Cunégonde and François Malabar made a moving declaration to her before dying. Upon learning of the death of the artist Ben, journalist Laura Tenoudji revealed on her Instagram account exclusive videos that she captured last July during a recording at the octogenarian’s home. In these never-broadcast images, we can hear him make a sweet declaration of love to his wife. Asked about the longevity of his relationship, Ben then confided: “I can’t do without my wife. I can’t live without my wife. There are times during the day, as soon as I’m tired, [où] I shout: ‘Annie, Annie, Annie’. I need her.” A poignant statement which shows to what extent their understanding and their love have always been the driving force of their relationship.
Photo credits: Bruno Bebert / Bestimage
