“Abecedarium” — from the Latin abecedarius, “relating to the ABC” — is a visual exploration of an alphabet, a poetic inventory of symbols arranged in their traditional order.

Originally conceived for young audiences, the project invites children to discover the cultural richness of Normandy, expand their vocabulary, and awaken their artistic curiosity through a playful and educational journey. Yet it also offers adults an exhibition that is colorful, subtle, and delightfully offbeat.

My artistic approach was to breathe a silent narrative into each image — stories without words that nonetheless speak about language. To create them, I travelled across Normandy, from the sands of Utah Beach to the cliffs of Étretat, with detours through the Cerza Zoo. Along the way, I encountered remarkable individuals: a superstar jockey, spirited teenage swimmers, a devoted wave photographer, a former mayor obsessed with model trains, and a very young dockworker.

One by one, these encounters filled what began as an “empty palette.” More than twenty-six times over, the alphabet unfolded in color, poetry, and humor, until each letter and image embodied its own tale — a fantastic story drawn from the landscape, the people, and the depths of my inner imagination.