« Thinking is searching for clearings in a forest »
Jules Renard
Champs Libres is an exhibition of 14 artists working with sustainability and ecological transition. Designed for the MAIF Social club and curated by Julie Sicault Maillé, Champs Libres takes the form of a clearing, as in the quote above from Jules Renard.
With a map, the visitor travels around a wooded territory to discover artworks about current ecological issues. Illustrated stamps are hidden in the trunks for every visitor to complete its map.
A carpet on the ground made of recycled fishing nets pictures the aquatic, mineral, vegetal, urban and aerial environments that the artworks relate to, and expanding upon. The scenography intensifies and reinforces the existing architecture with a grid of poles to create a forest. This rhymes with the space without compartmentalizing it. This forest full of 13 diverse artworks becomes a field of communication. Trees are covered with labels and pedagogic drawings about each artist’s specific themes.
Drawing for exhibition’s carpet
At the heart of the exhibition, a clearing opens up and captures natural light coming from the canopy. This is the core of an ecosystem and the meeting point of the environments. The visitor enters its center reflecting on ecological issues. From this new point of view it is possible to embrace all the artworks and the complexity of all their connections.
While planning the structure of this exhibition, a lot of attention has been given to how the materials that went into the exhibition can be reused afterwards. The carpet is made of recycled fishing nets, partitions and platforms from earlier exhibitions have been reused in this project and will have a another life afterwards, the tree-poles will be used for carpentry.
january - july 2020
Photo credits :
Studio Idaë / Tiffany Silve and Edouard Richard / Maif
Artists:
Lucy + Jorge Orta, Laurent Tixador, Barthélemy Antoine-Lœff, Ettore Favini, Ha Cha Youn, Vaughn Bell, Suzanne husky, Stefan Shankland, Olga Kisseleva, Janaina Mello Landini, Pekka Niittyvirta & Timo Aho, Matt_tieu.
Curator:
Julie Sicault Maillé
Exhibition design:
Studio Idaë (Isabelle Daëron, Floriane Roué)
Manufacturer: Solid
Producer:
Artistik Bazaar (Marine Ulrich and Marine Birot)
Client:
Maif Social Club
37 rue de Turenne
75003 Paris
Home office: 17 rue Dombasle 75015 Paris
Workshop: 111bis rue Molière 94200 Ivry-sur-Seine
contact@studioidae.com
A multidisciplinary creative agency founded by Isabelle Daëron in 2018, Studio Idaë arose from a reflection on the use of natural flows — water, air, light — in public space.
The Studio has, ever since, developed an approach based on research and education, focusing on the urban, environmental and societal challenges of the ecological transition.
Driven by a poetical & committed team of designers, Studio Idaë applies its refined, assertive graphic signature to projects of various scales. From urban devices to mediation objects and supports, or scenography, the agency’s protean contributions always strive at others — their needs, their desires, and their evolution.
The agency operates within a network of local companies and collaborates with dedicated craftspeople to adapt to the specific characteristics of each territory. Together, they work towards the most appropriate and relevant response — between narration and mediation.
Graphic design : Audrey Templier
Web development : Francis Josserand
Designer and design researcher, Isabelle Daëron graduated from the École Supérieure d’Art et de Design in Reims in 2005 and the École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle in Paris in 2009. She founded Studio Idaë based on her reflections on the use of natural flows—water, air, light—in public spaces. At the heart of the agency’s work, her practice of drawing and narrative opens up the imagination and a sensitive understanding of environments and their resources.
Pauline Avrillon, a graduate of the École Boulle (DSAA product design and DMA carpentry), has been working with Isabelle Daëron since 2016, even before the studio was founded. As a senior project manager, Pauline has a particular interest in materials and manufacturing processes that contribute to resilient and innovative public spaces. She is involved in urban development projects, as well as projects combining mediation and territory.
A graduate of Ensci-Les Ateliers, Nina Capron joined the team in 2024. Within the studio, she is developing expertise in spatial design projects. She pays particular attention to the narrative and educational challenges inherent in the creation of scenography and installations.
Julie Deloraine, a graduate designer from Esad Saint-Etienne, joined the studio in 2025. By collaborating on set design projects, Julie meticulously develops the graphic and visual aspects of our creations, as a means of making them accessible to all.
Eléna Hervé Caro has been Studio Idaë’s office manager since 2023. A trained designer (graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven), she oversees the administrative and logistical aspects of the studio’s activities. Convinced of the impact of teamwork and the power of good planning, she contributes to upholding the values of the studio and the entire ecosystem.
They took part in the studio’s projects: Angèle Fourteau, Chad Garçon, Dalva Rosepape, Nicolas Vuillerme, Elise Teiller, Pia Debray Sandelin, Jonathan Roditi, Caroline Manowicz, Victoria Gravelier, Floriane Roué, Ambroise Jugan, Julie Arnaud, Charlotte Baverel, Simon Frajer, Lita Gomez Carrera, Anne-Claire Hostequin, Camille Demouge, Julien Peraldi, Jonathan Coat, Adèle Nyitrai, Elizabeth Hong, Mathilde Vaillant, Nina Chalot, Julie Arnaud.
Studio Idaë welcomed the following interns: Julie Deloraine, Marie Avezard, Garance Delavallade, Jaemo Lee, Audrey Solans, Béatrice Baillard, Pia Debray Sandelin, Thibaut Caudal, Léa Michielin, Yalhma Robette, Adriana Goepp, Mélany Savoie, Marie Lecommandoux, Ethen Ben Abda, Mathilde Vaillant, Florian Meca, Tiffany Silve, Nina Capron, Justine Chagnaud, Monika Olszak, Tom Garçon, Éléonore Gold-Dalg, Lucile Girard, Valentin Aubois-Liogier, Bastien Lafont, Chad Garçon, Marie-Ève Millasseau, Marie-Sarah Adenis, Louise Raguet, Camille Jégo, Claire Aubadie-Ladrix, Fleur Moreau.
