It's arguably the strangest—or most honest—residence I've ever experienced.
Strange, because it escapes everything we usually imagine.
No clearly defined project, no production, no deliverable objective.
Nothing that reassures an academic or institutional reading.
And yet, everything is there.
For a week, Gareth and I talked.
A lot.
Five to six hours a day, sometimes more.
We talked about everything—especially what's not easily formalized.
Studios, yes, but not just as locations: as living spaces. The ceiling height, the floor markings, the inside, the outside.
Teams. Roles. Who watches, who decides, who organizes, who executes.
The actor's place in all of this.
His spot.
He told me about his journey, his relationship with his body, his past as a gymnast.
And there, something becomes clear: this profession, for him, is not just based on technique, but on awareness. A keen listening to what the body can do, to what it says, to what it endures as well.
And I, across from them, realize that I had come for answers...
And that I leave especially with some trips.
Because this week has made me question a lot of the ideas I had built for myself.
Often, without realizing it, in a somewhat absurd form of comparison — like that frog that wants to be as big as the ox.
And Gareth, without ever saying it directly, put me back in a more appropriate position.
Not any smaller.
More fair.
Not of what I don't have.
But rather of what I do with what I have.
And that changes everything.
So yes, we moved too.
We crossed Martinique, met people, shared moments.
But deep down, the essential thing happened elsewhere.
In speech.
In listening.
In this somewhat rare space where two people take the time to share their experiences, their doubts, their worldviews.
A form of residence that does not produce objects, but transforms.
In the end, he used an expression: “We bonded.”
I don't know exactly how to translate it.
To bond? To weld? To become one, perhaps.
But that's exactly it.
Something has been created.
Something simple, solid, human.
And in this context, a larger question emerged:
How can a territory grow by connecting it with trajectories from elsewhere, without ever trying to imitate them, but by letting them resonate?
His departure was late, as usual.
And just before, two moments.
A presentation of this approach, of what we do here in motion capture — between creation, research, and health — made possible thanks to Axel Artheron.
Then, almost like a wink, as we arrived at the airport: Noor-Sharina arriving, Gareth departing.
A relay handover.
Almost choreographed.
A residency that ends exactly when another begins.
Thank you Gareth Taylor for this.
For generosity, precision, and attentiveness.
And this way of sharing without ever holding back.
