You have been particularly interested in young people since your first project Mots d'ados. Where did the idea come from to tackle subjects that affect young people from different angles? 

For Mots d'ados, my very first project as an artist, I collected hundreds of diaries written by teenagers. This vast collection was the subject of a book, and a reading booth that allows other teenagers to read, on camera, the diaries of other teenagers.

The starting point for this vast collection was my own diary. Between the ages of 15 and 18, I was plagued by a sense of unease about my gender and sexuality. During this period when intimate oral communication was taboo, it was thanks to writing this diary and several anonymous blogs that I managed to externalise my troubles, to formulate my unavowable desires in reality. These writings were therapeutic. They allowed me to stop time, to be in touch with my intimacy.

It made me realise that teenagers have little space to express themselves and that they are rarely given a voice. This is what I try to do in my projects: I invent devices in which they feel comfortable to talk about their most intimate dreams and fears without taboos. The result is edifying and shows a new image of teenagers, far removed from the clichés. 

You created the documentary web series Cher futur moi, which invites participants aged 15 to 20 to send a video to their future self in 10 years. Produced as part of the France-Portugal 2022 Season, the next season will involve young French and Portuguese people. Was there a particular message that stood out for you? 

Cher futur moi was born in 2016. Since then, almost 400 young people have participated in the adventure. Most of them are French-speaking and live in metropolitan France, the Overseas Territories, Algeria, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ivory Coast and Canada. Whether they live in Montreal, Porto, Kinshasa or in a small village in the Vosges, the participants have common dreams: they want to be loved, to be happy, to have money, to find meaning in life, to travel the world, to free themselves from the gaze of others or to overcome their complexes... There are also common fears such as those of failure, poverty or the death of a loved one. 

Nevertheless, certain subjects emerge according to the realities that these young people experience. Some are in the midst of a gender transition, discovering the joys of higher education, independence, a new country... Others want to recover from an illness, overcome their addictions or stop being bullied at school. 

In the capsules of this new Franco-Portuguese season, we find the same singular realities. Several participants are Franco-Portuguese and hope to take pride in their origins in the future. For example, Antoine has just enrolled in a Portuguese course and hopes to be completely bilingual in 10 years' time. Emy wants to "repair the broken thread" and teach her future children Portuguese. In 10 years, Asbel and Eliott hope to have completed their gender transition. They hope that the medical, social and administrative procedures that are so restrictive in France will be simplified in the future. The Covid-19 crisis has had a highly destabilising effect on the mental health of adolescents. They have high expectations for the future. 

Almost all the participants hope for a more feminist and inclusive society for minorities. A resolutely more ecological society as well. Some ask their "future self" to become vegan, to stop eating meat, to not have children, to limit their consumption of resources, or to stop flying. 

How did the collaboration with your French and Portuguese partners go? 

As I am not a Portuguese speaker, I directed this Franco-Portuguese season of Cher futur moi with Cláudia Alves, a documentary film-maker. We both worked in classrooms in France and Portugal to find the participants for the project. We were assisted by the curator of the Season and we were able to film in Faro, Bragança, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Amadora and at the French High School in Porto. We also issued a call for participation on social networks which was relayed by the Institut français and the Instituto Camões. In total, almost 60 young people took part in this season. 

Despite the large number of people involved, the collaboration went extremely well. We always dealt with people who were available, interested and willing to listen. I would particularly like to thank Amandine Canistro from the Institut français (Live Performance Project Manager for the France-Portugal 2022 Season), who has followed the project from the beginning and facilitated all of our exchanges. 

What has struck you about this Franco-Portuguese cooperation, both professionally and personally? 

Since the beginning of the project, I had a strong desire to produce "non-French speaking" vignettes of Cher futur moi and I am very happy to have been able to do so within the framework of the France-Portugal 2022 Season. It makes me want to continue and expand the collection internationally! 

On a more personal level, I fell under the spell of Portugal, a country I did not know. 

The France-Portugal 2022 Season is coming to an end, what conclusions can you draw from your participation? What brought you the greatest satisfaction? 

It was a challenge to produce this season of Cher futur moi between two countries, but we managed to do it. The result is as good as we expected. Paradoxically, there is a real unity to this season and this proves to us even more that the issues that concern youth in the future are international. I met some very nice people virtually and now I can't wait for everyone to meet "in real life" for the broadcast of the installation, scheduled to begin on 29 October 2022 at Galeria da Boavista in Lisbon as part of the closing ceremony of the France-Portugal 2022 season.