Talk Marlène Huissoud & Tarik Chekchak

Biomimicry, finding inspiration from the living world

The Foundation gives a voice to visual artists, writers, philosophers and filmmakers in an online conversation format and in pairs.
These exchanges aim at questioning the current world, raising awareness, creating new narratives in the light of the health and ecological crisis.

– Which commitment and responsibility do the artist and the philosopher have regarding this crisis?
– How are artistic and writing practices impacted? Which behaviour should individually and collectively be implemented?
– What new way to produce and display art while public engagement becomes increasingly immaterial?
– Which vision and creativeness to be impulsed for reinventing tomorrow’s world?

Themes: Eco-design and regenerative economy / Perceive in the living less a resource than a living being / Concept of care in Design / Relocation of the economy / Change of posture to create symbioses between the human and the non-human

Bibliographic references cited
Baptiste Morizot, Manière d’être vivant, Actes Sud, 2020
Ouvrage collectif, sous la dir. de G. Chapelle et K. Raskin, Humanité bio-inspirée: une autre approche, Cherche midi, 2020

Speakers

Marlène Huissoud is an experimental designer, after studying at the Beaux-Arts in Lyon, she earned a Master’s in Material Futures from Central Saint Martins in London in 2014, where she developed her groundbreaking project From Insects. This project explores materials derived from the common bee and the Indian silkworm, bringing attention to the potential of natural resources and their role in the future of design. Her creative process is an invitation to reflect on our environmental impact and take action accordingly. Marlène is deeply committed to the value of concept and the importance of the creative process, often working with various experts in the field of entomology. Her designs pay homage to her family’s beekeeping heritage and challenge traditional boundaries between art and craftsmanship. She creates what can be described as living sculptures, blurring the lines between functional objects and artistic expression. In 2024, Marlène was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix de la Création by the City of Paris for her contributions to design, and she was named one of the Top 100 Designers of the Year by AD. Her work continues to make waves in the design world, celebrated for its innovation, ecological sensitivity, and artistic vision. In 2020, Marlène won the Wood Award in the Bespoke category for her Beehive project, designed for the Science Museum in London. She was also recognized as one of the 70 Rising Stars of Design by the Design Council, representing the future of British design, and was named Most Innovative Experimental Artist of the Year in 2018.