ROMAN MIGNARD SERE

” In general, my creativity is centred around painting and flowers. That’s how I approached the theme of ‘From Paris to Venice’.

I began by admiring Simon Buret’s stunning frescoes at the Nolinski, which inspired me to use the white sheet as a blank canvas on which to weave these two magical cities together, both by painting landscapes of the two cities as well as using embroidery and beadwork to highlight certain symbols.

It also shows my love for flowers. For the symbol of Venice, I chose the Astrantia Major, and for Paris, the lily. I made 3D models of the flowers and placed them on top of a heart-shaped structure designed around plants, courtesy of the napkin, to symbolise these two cities of love.

When it came to the colours, I wanted to both convey the idea of water, representing the Seine and the Lagoon, and also contrast it with the notion of fire, given that these cities have both been affected by huge fires affecting major monuments, namely Notre-Dame Cathedral and La Fenice.

For the finishing touch, I created an embossed border so that it could float on the Seine and the Lagoon. “