It all begins with the pleasure of materials :

The research into and discovery of fragments is the starting point of the piece of work; I am always on the lookout for the fragment that will set off the spark.

-  stone (marble, onyx, granite, slate, pebbles.. .) which takes us back to the dawn of time. I love it for its reality and its mystery but also for its strong personality, its resistance and the surprises it holds in store.

- molten glass, fragments of ceramics, pieces of metal and all sorts of unusual objects: sometimes found in craftsmen's workshops, sometimes found by chance on the streets, beaches, building sites. .

As much emphasis is given to the materials that are caringly shaped into tesseras, as to the "small leftover pieces" saved from dust and anonymity by an attentive eye.

Work that involves encounters:

When I begin a piece of work, the most captivating aspect for me is the establishment of a dialogue, creating affinities between the elements that, in the beginning, have nothing to do with one another, and then finding the most articulate way to create a link between them.

Also, starting with the "little pieces" and working towards the finished object, from chaos to harmony, playing with the dialogue between shadow and light to instil an inner breath, that's what I try to do. One can understand the process better when one sees the silent materials at the workshop, waiting to be brought together to acquire density, to captivate light and to ask a question.

An art synonymous with life:

Capable through its richness of vocabulary to approach life with its vast abundance and paradoxes, mosaic possesses everything it needs in order to express the subtleties of our duality - taken from a perspective of reconciliation - and to join together that which is essential to us.

And if I've chosen this as my preferred technique it's also because of its timeless yet contemporary dimension: doesn't it echo a world that has always been in pieces, shattered, constantly looking for an equilibrium?

My work is an attempt to find an answer, in its desire to bring out a touch of serenity, of tenderness and sometimes of humour, to generate silence and at the same time to enable the murmurings of life to be heard".

Cécile BOUVAREL