The image of two souls uniting emerges from the mists of time. Friends, lovers, parents—the motif of the union of two beings fascinates. Since the Paleolithic period, when it appeared only subliminally in an eroticized female figurine, it has inhabited all eras.

Precursors of the demand for an ever-elusive equality, in the couple statues of ancient Egypt, man and woman are treated identically, in dimensions, postures and the reciprocity of tender gestures.

This same civilization has left us the first known trace of intimate love between two men, a double portrait in profile, looking into each other's eyes, accompanied by the legend "Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum lived together and loved each other ionately."

In our era, few artists have never confronted it. Images of embraces and complicity, but also of tension where the space between the protagonists imposes itself like a third presence. Complex in the range of situations and feelings to be translated, this much-revisited motif could tire, seem redundant, even "trivial."

It is the singularity of the artist's gaze that constantly renews it, like an encounter that takes place before our eyes. For all that the image of the couple tells us about humanity that is profound, original and essential in the pure etymological sense, its magic and mystery will never be exhausted.

In Orpheus's procession, Apollinaire features the cat, the tortoise, the fly, the flea, and the octopus—"this inhuman monster is myself," he wrote of the latter. At a time when we are ionate about the unity of life, would a bestiary of today be very different? First, it would include an Adam, Anne Roger-Lacan's L'homme Heureux, and an Eve, Marcel Miracle's Une dame très sélect, who would come to life joyfully like Elsa Sahal's Dancing Twins. In this bestiary, there would be melancholic animals, perhaps pedal-boat swans like Erwin Olaf's, teddy bears like the one held in her arms by the young pregnant woman photographed by Sophie Bramly. There would be plastic dinosaurs pinned like butterflies in a Mark Dion cabinet of curiosities, and perhaps also a slightly dented Mickey, washed up on a beach, caught nose-deep in the sand by Tami Notsani. Some animals would be a bit like machines, like Zhenya Machneva's messy robot. And even broken machines, like Nelson Pernisco's For Things That Remain Raw. All would be chimeras, each in their own way, like Françoise Vergier's The Goddess of the Green Moon, or Seb Janiak's Mimesis-Hibiscus Trinium. Some would have wings like Jean Messagier's flower-bird, like Maya Inès Touam's creatures, like James Rielly's wave-fish.

In front of or behind the curtain, I am on the threshold of the next chapter of my space of happiness: dance. Fully in the moment, as close as possible to my consciousness, looking within myself and towards others through self-giving, my gratitude to the audience, and the desire to transmit that is at the heart of our art.

Before the curtain falls, and in each moment that follows, I interpret a myriad of gestures that I welcome by letting them inhabit me and patiently taming them.

Through my dance, I hope to convey the breadth of our moods and states of being; the vertigo and resilience of love, which is redemption; the infinite grace that is everywhere in nature and whose mystery is housed in our own bodies; to demonstrate that difference is self-evident; to fill in the dots in the immensity of the universe and connect them. To make each one a space of happiness. To make them shine like stars.

This selection of works is the outline of a portrait of my story.

Thanks to Renato d'Agostin, Rebecca Amsellem, Théo Antonin, Hannah Archambault, Paz Borquez-Chevallier, Frédéric Fleury, Bérangère Fromont, Alice Grenier Nebout, Eric Grizard, Alice Goudon and Irma de Rean, and to this anonymous period perspective that brings the dawn of modernity in dance back to life.

Through a selection of works with the night as a common thread, the "Insomnia" curation expresses the complexity of sleepless nights. Spending hours waiting, traveling, where the only trace of life is wherever there is light: a building, a parking lot, a gas station, on a street corner in a city from my childhood, L'Union. These points of light illuminate the dark thoughts of our sleepless nights. These hectic nights, spent thinking for hours, analyzing, and worrying, far from the euphoria and excesses of the day, allow the void to reassure us. Adam Akner's work "Luminous Solitude" immerses us in this moment suspended in the void. So that in the end, late at night, the lights still on, slumped on a table, there is finally sleep! Dreams replace the void. Under the spotlights of a theater or dreaming of a sunset, Nathan Ghali with his work "Qui dorment paixement: Anne Hélène" expresses the comfort of sleep where the border of reality becomes blurred for a world, which is truly comforting to him.

For its 2025 edition, the Nouveau Printemps is taking over the Saint-Sernin district and associating the artist Kiddy Smile. The festival affirms its new formula and consolidates the relationships it has forged with the city as well as with artists from here and elsewhere. Defending an art for all, locally rooted, artistically demanding, avant-garde, the Nouveau Printemps s collective artistic creations or experiences, open to the world and responsible for our environments. In dialogue with art spaces or new venues in the district, Kiddy Smile and its guests compose a series of exhibitions, bringing together multiple artistic practices, to reveal yet another new vision of art. This time, it is a constellation dedicated to love, connections and families that is formed and offered from place to place: invitations made by Kiddy Smile to artists and works that express the desire to be together, each and every one, with respect and pride.

The history of architectural photography began between 1826 and 1827 with the world's oldest preserved photograph: "View from the Window at Le Gras," a heliograph by Nicéphore Niépce, its inventor. In the early 19th century, the daguerreotypes used at the time required long exposure times, leading architecture to become an inspiring subject that captivated photographers with its architectural curves and lines. Photographers documented the construction of the Eiffel Tower, the Paris Metro, and New York City skyscrapers, capturing the work of famous architects such as Le Corbusier and the Bauhaus movement. More recently, "urbex," short for urban exploration, aims to explore abandoned places. The resulting images reflect architecture challenged by the age of time. They question human constructions and their ephemeral nature. Throughout the 20th century, photography evolved into a true art form. Although the image often faithfully reproduces the building, the artist's subjective perspective reveals atmosphere, plays with light, and becomes more abstract. The artist conveys his or her personal vision of a structure and its architectural elements. This selection invites you to discover these perspectives.

How can we take positive action while we are in the midst of a climate crisis, wars, and a society that is changing at incredible speed and collapsing in various ways? How can we engage when we feel utterly powerless in the face of global injustices that seem beyond our reach? How can we take back power, take action, and move forward as individuals within a system that intentionally paralyzes us? The answer I connect with most is care. Collective care. Care is a radical act in our current society. An act of care can and will make a difference. Here is a selection of works that highlight the theme of care through various themes: collective care, personal care, care of our planet, explored through different mediums. As Thich Nhat Hanh says in "The Art of Communicating" (2013), "Care is the bridge that connects us to one another."

Whether it's to translate as closely as possible the intimate universe or the one that surrounds us - to enrich, purify or explore the essence of a motif by representing what it does not reveal - the points of age to the languages of abstraction are multiple, persistent, and powerful: The examination of the subconscious, the restitution of unspeakable emotions, the wonder at the exuberance or romanticism of nature, the expression of a mapping of the world reduced to its strict essence, the staging of a dysfunctional reality, a macro vision or the investigation of the infinitely small…

Out of context (At the edges of reality) explores the interstitial spaces, at the tenuous borders, between a dreamlike, poetic, phantasmagorical, esoteric, Cartesian or intuitive figuration, and its metamorphosis - through sliding or tilting - into pure abstraction, whether it be lyrical, expressionist, geometric or non-objective. This selection of works expresses my unalterable fascination for this delicate, impermanent and floating balance; a back-and-forth between the motif and the elsewhere; the concrete and the imaginary; the identifiable and what escapes qualification; the subject and the Whole.

With the curation "MirrorMirror (on the wall)," I was interested in examining the figurative within the media of photography, works on paper, painting, and sculpture. As an expert in photography and contemporary art, and as an artist working with performance and moving images, I am deeply motivated by concepts related to intimacy and how art can be used as a vehicle for healing and as a catalyst for the unveiling of our multiple identities. I am particularly guided by the potential of art to be a politicized space, capable of giving voice to minority groups; to allow us to share our experience as an act of generosity and empowerment.

In an increasingly visual and homogenous world, I am always drawn to artists who seek to move away from visual narratives that are too preoccupied with the mainstream.

I believe that artists have the ability to offer their audience a mirror that can allow the viewer to see a part of themselves that they may not have known existed, so that a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance can begin.

Captivating figurative art has the ability to take us on a journey to explore both the known and lesser-known facets of the human experience.