BIOGRAPHY

I was born in Nice in 1976, in a region where Mediterranean and subtropical plants from around the world influenced my perspective and gave me the desire to discover all these exotic trees in their natural environments.

In 1999, while studying landscape design in England, I had an unexpected encounter with an ancient oak tree. Its tormented trunk opened my eyes to the fabulous world of bark. A real passion was born! I made the slightly crazy decision to become a botanist/ photographer specializing in tree bark.

With support from the Fondation de France, I was able to travel in more than 35 countries to find the most beautiful barks on the planet, study them and make them better known. Now I share my passion with a very wide audience through my books, exhibitions, workshops and conferences. books, exhibitions, workshops and conferences.

My photographic work remains simple, very graphic and colorful. Some of these bark pictures seem unreal and yet all of them were taken in daylight, respecting as much as possible the natural colors. Out of respect for Nature, I try to remain as faithful as possible to this unequaled artist.

Fascinated by the ingenuity of plants, I collected thousands of specimen of wood, bark, fruits and seeds, creating exceptional collections to raise public awareness about the magic of plants. The most remarkable of these is the « Phloiothèque » (from the Greek « phloios » = bark). Unique in the world, it consists of samples of natural bark from nearly 800 different species.