When developing the characters in Ulysses , James Joyce famously built out their lives with granular precision, conceptualizing even fleeting passersby with complex inner worlds. Their looks, temperaments, memories; the peculiar dynamics of their relationships: each figure was conceived of as an autonomous, fully-embodied individual, caught within turn-of-the-century Dublin’s urban churn. Right now in Paris, Helen Marten’s 30 Blizzards. —the Turner Prize-winning British artist’s very own epic, if you will—has a similar air to it.

Enter the Palais d’Iéna—a Rationalist marvel of a building that houses the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council—between now and Sunday, and you’ll discover a scene that invites a curious unpacking. A line of five sprawling sculptures (exacting co

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