A 2014 graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, the artist has been developing a singular approach to collecting and archiving for several years. She methodically builds up an inventory of samples: water taken, sediments harvested, fragments of shoreline carefully catalogued, packaged and classified according to protocols she establishes. This quasi-scientific approach reveals the absurdity of trying to contain the ocean's immensity within human-scale measurement systems. Oceans come in bottles, seas in labeled plastic bags, while the sky is measured in fifty-three shades of blue.

In the exhibition, Anne-Laure Wuillai deploys a bestiary of seaside archetypes: perfectly shaped pools, idealized marine islets, private beaches with controlled access. The exhibition confronts a coveted sea and a desire for paradise, with an economic orchestration centered on the seaside resort. The landscape is literally consumed and the sea becomes a commodity, at the heart of a tourist economy where ice cream vendors and souvenir stores rub shoulders to buy a moment of idleness.

On the gallery floor, the exhibition continues with the presentation of a global project realized during a year-long research and creation residency on the island of Porquerolles, in collaboration with the Parc National de Port-Cros and the Frac Sud in 2023. Upstairs, visitors will also discover a video by Hélène Baillot and Raphaël Botiveau, the fruit of the same residency. The video work, Il faut imaginer une île, reveals a meticulous collection of stories gleaned from inhabitants, testimonials, sound and visual fragments, creating a veritable contemporary cabinet of curiosities.