aka Petit Pierre
Born deaf and mute, and describing himself as “all twisted, misshapen, fit for the trash,” Pierre Avezard grew up in the Loiret region of France. He left school at the age of seven and worked as a shepherd and cowherd for local farmers. Nicknamed “Petit-Pierre,” he compensated for his disability by developing remarkable ingenuity.
He collected scraps of metal, gears, and leather straps, which he used to create articulated figures, animals, vehicles, and whimsical machines—such as one that distributed beets to “deserving cows,” or a 23-meter-tall Eiffel Tower.
He assembled these creations on his small plot of land to form an elaborate collection of carousels. By 1970, his work included more than a hundred painted and cut metal figures, animated by the motor of a washing machine. Since the constructions were visible from the road, passersby began stopping to watch, and over time, Petit-Pierre even started giving Sunday tours.
After his death, his environment was preserved thanks to Alain Bourbonnais, who relocated “Le Manège de Petit-Pierre” to the Fabuloserie.