In Latin, the word admiratio referred to a form of wonder mixed with astonishment, the starting point, according to Aristotle, of all philosophical inquiry.

Today, the French term has lost this double meaning. Wonder, associated with naivety and childhood, is thus commonly opposed to scientific observation and the desire for knowledge. Isn't it this affect that pushes some humans to become passionate about the study of natural environments and other living things?

For Noémie Sauve, inspiration always begins in contact with a field. This exhibition presents works from two scientific expeditions - Tara (2017) and Vulcano (2021). On site, the artist collects data, samples, colors and shapes. Back in the studio, she explores multiple formats and techniques, between drawing, sculpture and chemical reactions of materials, seeking to restore the invisible and threatened worlds of corals or the incandescence of a volcanic stone.

Noémie Sauve's artistic practice is driven by a form of admiration, a curiosity shared with the scientists she meets in the field. Navigating freely and without hierarchy between the naturalistic and the fantastical registers, she creates works that, in the mode of analogy and diversion, invite us in turn to wonder and inquiry.