Les Hôtes

[…] there is a desire to create hollows in which to sit, space for one or more bodies. Sculptures that allow visitors to experience an encounter with the tree. The seats, backrests and armrests also form bodies, abstract bodies, bodies that welcome other bodies. The garden is a kind of sanctuary. The trees that populate it live in contact with generations of users and gardeners; it is a place where encounters take place. It is also a parable, that of an enclosed space for which humanity is responsible: the planetary garden. Addressing this subject matter in these places is no trivial matter. We have approached it with humility. When talking about our way of working, we often say that doing, the act of creation, guides the forms and the thinking. Working with this tree, and in the context of the garden, gave rise to these forms, evoking a thousand sensations and a thousand thoughts. So, in a way, thanks to these six relics, this tree, this giant sequoia over 120 years old, lives on in a new form, which we wanted to be both collective and intimate.


Translated extract from the inauguration speech by the artists