2023.8
Residency at ACEA L'Expressoir, Marnay-sur-Seine, France

I. Go with the Flow

I visited the botanical garden in Marnay the second day I arrived in the village. The director walked me through the garden and had me smell, touch, and taste a lot of the plants, which I had never done in a botanical garden. The second time I visited the garden, I bought a bunch of vegetables with shapes I had never seen, including a pâtisson (pattypan squash), which is very common for the local people.

So I put the pâtisson in my room and stared at it every day. One day it said to me that I should put myself in it. While locals drove around and got groceries, the pâtisson would then be my vehicle to go everywhere. 

Process photos:

The next day we had pâtisson for lunch.

Go with the Flow video:

II. Must-Sees in Marnay, a guided tour

The village had a charm. To remind the locals of the unforgettable things I experienced in the village, I designed a brochure and led a guided tour called "Must-Sees in Marnay". Around 20 local people came and learned nothing about their village.

​During the tour, I invited the locals to test their eyesight with the water level pole in the river, say “Hi Birdie” to the pigeons flying between one building and the bottom of the bridge, asked questions about the sealed church windows and wells. We also stared at the clock on the former school building, where time froze, and sat in the football field and wondered how far we were from the sky.