French-style planter, 2006

Zinc planters + fountain + bonsai + boxwood + lawn + gravel / 380 x 280 x 70 cm

Hôtel Goüin - Tours / French Embassy in New York / Commissioned by the indre et loire general council.

The rigor, organization and mastery of nature of the French gardens created by our own in the 17th century reflected the interior architecture of the time. They were an extension of the royal apartments, so the king's wealth and grandeur always shone through. His person, his intimacy, was accessible to a wider public beyond the castle walls. Today, the creation of jardinières à la française gives everyone the chance to own their own personal formal garden, like a miniature kingdom. Jardinières move the sense of mastery and grandeur we feel in front of a formal garden right before our eyes, i.e. under our total control. At this scale, mastery is still very much present, but the feeling of grandeur becomes derisory.