What if you could step into an artwork and become part of the scene? This November, narrative photographer Adrien Broom brings her immersive Living Tableaux series to the Kengo Kuma-designed Hôtel Swexan in Dallas, transforming the hotel’s terrace into The Garden of Unexpected Guests. Created in collaboration with Martine Chaisson Gallery, the installation invites visitors into an otherworldly topiary garden populated by a 10-foot-tall rabbit, giraffes, swans, dancers, and other unexpected figures. There, guests can participate in private portrait sessions with Broom, becoming subjects in their own surreal photographic compositions.
An earlier iteration of Living Tableaux installation Adrien invites participants into elaborate, hand-built environments. Photography by Adrien Broom.
Drawing from mythology, folklore, and childhood wonder, Broom builds her elaborate sets by hand, combining sculptural props, costumes, and carefully controlled lighting to create environments that blur the boundary between reality and fantasy. She also works with natural elements, including light, mist, and atmosphere, to shape the final image.
“Every Living Tableaux starts with a world I build by hand and then invite people into,” Broom says. “When a sitter steps in, they cross a threshold into the story. I control everything around them, even the wind, and we make the picture together. It’s an art form that combines sculpture, production design, light, and photography, with a little therapy mixed in. Helping each person feel at ease is part of the art for me. No two portraits are ever alike.”
Designed by Kengo Kuma, Hôtel Swexan in Dallas will host Adrien Broom’s ‘The Garden of Unexpected Guests’ on its terrace from Nov. 11–22, 2026. Photography by Harwood Hospitality.
Living Tableaux is Broom’s ongoing series of site-specific installations, each designed to respond to its host space, from galleries and private homes to other intimate venues. From Nov. 11 to 22, Broom will be in residence at Hôtel Swexan, launching an artist-in-residence program that aims to give guests and the Dallas arts community opportunities to meaningfully engage with an artist’s creative process. Julian Payne, the hotel’s general manager, calls the program “an exciting calendar of partnerships reflecting our existing DNA of art, music, culture and diversity.”
Adrien Broom transforms an ornate interior into a surreal swamp, where towering trees, atmospheric mist, and a reflective pool create an unexpected backdrop for a photographic portrait. Photography by Adrien Broom.
Swexan, a portmanteau of “Swiss” and “Texan,” points to the blend of European hospitality and bold Texan design the boutique hotel offers. This playfulness extends to its dining and nightlife spaces, from Stillwell’s, a steakhouse named after a pioneering cowgirl, to Babou’s, a nightclub featuring a dark wood-paneled library where books and cocktails coexist.
In another of Adrien Broom’s elaborate photographic scenes, oversized sculptural mushrooms transform a formal dining room into a fantastical setting, complete with candlelight, a crystal chandelier, and a dramatically draped table. Photography by Adrien Bloom.
The residency marks the first time Living Tableaux has moved into a hotel. During her stay, Broom will offer a limited number of 90-minute Living Tableaux sessions for individuals, couples, families, groups, and even pets—turning guests into participants in an artwork of their own.
The Garden of Unexpected Guests runs Nov. 11–22, 2026, at Hôtel Swexan in Dallas. Private 90-minute portrait sessions cost $3,500 and include five retouched images. Advance reservations are required and available at hotelswexan.com.
