The Beauty of Water Plants    
Inspired by the location of the villa Noailles in Hyères overlooking the sea, I decided to dedicate my residency at Sèvres and CIRVA to aquatic plants. A highly underestimated and versatile type of plant, in both shape and possible edibility. The beauty of this fascinating type of flora comes directly from its habitat, the water. The watery home of seaweeds has shaped their nature in several ways; for example, buoyancy in water has allowed free-floating algae to minimize tough structural supports and maximise photosynthetic tissue. Some algae (such as nori and sea lettuce) are essentially all leaf and just one or two cells thick. They are exceptionally tender and delicate.

On the plates is a relief of different edible seaweeds, a relatively new food source, or rather, a reintroduced food source. Unfortunately very unpalatable as it is sold now, cut up in small pieces, dried or salted, but how can it become popular again? That is why I wanted to “plate-up” seaweeds in their real shape, the way they grow in the water.

At Sèvres we have moulded the actual seaweeds directly within the mould, something that has challenged the, sometimes stubborn, memory of the porcelain. But finally, we have created nine different moulds of the six previously explained algae. The compositions of the seaweeds show and celebrate their characteristics, whether it is the super thin sea lettuce or the enormous oarweed. Three plates have been painted with three different seaweeds. Thanks to the skilful hands of the craftsman it is almost like having the real seaweed on the plate.

Exhibition Design Parade 2018 at Villa Noailles, Hyères, France
Porcelain plates in partnership with: Sèvres - cité de la céramique
Exhibition produced with the support of Puntoseta