Photos by writer Michel Houellebecq a reminder to 'stay sanguine'

Controversial author Michel Houellebecq counts smoking among his numerous obsessions. His first novel, "Whatever," was translated into English in 1994, after he'd already published poetry. He quickly became a shooting star in his native France.

His poems and works of fiction often have a morbid undertone. Just as his poetry is filled with breaks and chasms, so too are the photographs presented by Michel Houellebecq. Among the bits of truth and beauty he uncovers is the emptiness that is perhaps closer than we think. Many of his photographs offer a brutal perspective.

At the exhibition held in Paris' Palais de Tokyo gallery, there are a number of works to be taken in that bear the title, "France," including this one of a beach for dogs on the Atlantic coast. The horrible tristesse seen in these photographs is also a topic in his books: suburban ghettos, highway tollbooths, gray asphalt roads, empty parking lots.

The colors of his artistic photographs are often thinner, setting a melancholy mood with all of the shadows of the subdued tones. It's a contrast to his loud literary proclamations. His fascination, he once told Switzerland's "Neue Züricher Zeitung" newspaper, is with the "poetry of the disgusting." His signature in these works lies in their poetic nuances.

The exhibition in Paris fills 21 rooms - nearly 2,000 square meters in which visitors can enter the photographic universe of Michel Houellebecq. Among the pictures are loud, color-intense snapshots of advertisements that appear on cars, the sides of buildings, and at train stations.

Sex tourism, Islamophobia, homophobia: Many of his books provocatively take on difficult subjects that have stirred up discourse, not only in his native France. The publication of his book, "Soumission" coincided with the terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in January 2015. ("Submission" was published in English in October.) His photographs from this time appear threatening and gloomy.

The radical thinker has become quieter since the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices. After publication of "Submission," Houellebecq received death threats sent to his home address, which left him self-censoring at times. His photographs, such as "Arangement #011" shown above, display another side of the thoughtful writer.