You're representing France at the Cheongju Craft Biennale, with an installation entitled Yuki III / Mr Kim's Lotus Farm. Can you give us an introduction to this creation?

The work Yuki III / Mr Kim's Lotus Farm is an in situ installation made up of dozens of lotus leaves sculpted in wax. The leaves, made of white wax and yellow beeswax, are backlit, creating a luminous pond with subtle shades of white and yellow. This sculptural piece is the result of my residency at the Cheongju International Craft Residency, and is currently on display at the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025.

During my residency, I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Kim, who passionately grows lotuses on his farm. He offered me leaves and flowers from his pond, which I molded and sculpted in local beeswax. From this encounter was born Yuki III / Mr Kim's Lotus Farm, a work inspired by the poetic power of the lotus and the intimate link between material, gesture and landscape.

Beyond paying homage to this place and this encounter, the installation questions the memory of natural forms and the ability of material to capture light and transform it into emotion. Through this work, I also wish to put France and Korea in dialogue, to show how craftsmanship and contemporary creation can mutually nourish each other, and to invite everyone to take a renewed look at the fragility and strength of living things.

Yuki III / Mr Kim's Lotus Farm is the fruit of your residency carried out in Cheongju during July, as part of the Villa Busan - Villa Kujoyama post-residency program. How did you organize your time there?

Yuki III / Mr Kim's Lotus Farm was born out of my month-long residency in Cheongju. The time was short, but rich. As soon as I arrived, my priority was to find lotus leaves for molding and locate local waxes. With the invaluable help of the Biennale team, I was able to set up a workshop in the Culture Factory, at the heart of the local art scene, and meet Mr. Kim, whose lotus pond and farm served as a field of inspiration.

As the month progressed, I took it step by step: receiving my wax from the Netherlands, plaster molding the lotus leaves, creating silicone molds, then making the wax leaves. Each stage was guided by an encounter with the site, right up to installation in the Biennale exhibition space. This residency was an intense immersion, combining material research and human encounters.

As Villa Kujoyama laureate, you are now in residence in Kyoto, Japan, where your research focuses on Hazé wax. How did you discover this material and what does it bring to your practice?

I discovered Hazé wax during a month-long residency at Villa Kujoyama in 2022, as part of the Prix Liliane Bettencourt pour l'Intelligence de la Main. It was my first visit to Japan, and I wanted to explore a local wax, different from those I use in France. My encounter with Hazé wax was a real revelation. I found the first blocks of this material with Japanese craftsmen who make traditional candles, the Warōsoku. It was they who explained to me that Hazé wax comes from the wax tree, whose fruit is pressed to obtain this unique substance.

For over thirty years, wax has been at the heart of my artistic practice. I chose it for its suppleness, translucence and whiteness: all qualities that make it a living material for me, close to the skin. There are thousands of waxes, each with its own characteristics. Hazé wax has enriched my practice with a new hue and a singular fragrance. It's also plant-based and biodegradable, which deeply echoes my work, inspired by nature and organic forms.