Baroque Show

«The first time I saw a «globe de mariée» (wedding globe), I was completely seduced and intrigued. This symbolic object is anchored deeply in French tradition, reaching the height of its popularity during the 19th century. For us today, it’s a rare and essentially decorative item.

Each one is unique, having been created with care by the mother or by the godmother of the bride. Beginning on the day after the wedding, the «globe de mariée» was intended to hold the bride’s bouquet or floral crown. With the passing of the years, little souvenirs (dance cards, necklaces, brooches, baptism mementos, little birds or angels, etc.) enriched the display. These symbolic showcases metamorphosed into true family albums displayed for all to see on a mantel or on a chest of drawers. I started to collect them and to try to decipher their mysterious language and what made each one so special.

This exploration, this voyage encased in gilded metal, filled with mirrors and velvet cushions, quickly revealed itself as an invitation to re-imagine my visual language. Brass arabesques and soft pink quilted cushions transform themselves into imaginary gardens and works of theatre.

Conversations – colorful, flamboyant, or poetic – take place between flowers and leaves, fruits, vegetables, insects and treasures from Maison Legeron, where able hands have created an incredible enchantment of haute couture ornaments fashioned from silk, feathers, and sequins for four generations.

This French art de vivre – a mix of classicism, fantasy, and exoticism that characterized the era of Napoleon III  –  fascinated me as did the extraordinary feats of the Flemish masters which I explored in my previous series, «Amsterdamania».

This new series, «Couture Gardens» is a contemporary poetic translation of revisiting this patrimony. Each of my «wedding globes» celebrates a fantasized vision of nature: elegant, intimate, offbeat and full of humor.»