“Le Jardin Secret de Bleu Chardon” Paul Bonlarron

The winner of the Mobilier National Design Parade 2022 Prize, Paul Bonlarron benefited from a nine-month creative residency at the Mobilier National. He developed a cabinet
of mirages, the central element of this new scenography designed by the Mobilier National’s Research and Creation Workshop [Atelier de recherche et de creation, ARC].

In the silence of a chest, inner poems resonate, rhymes beg to be spread. The cabinet of mirages is an invitation to contemplate those things we collect and that inhabit us secretly. Drawers for mirages, mirrors for images. Its opaque architecture reveals a host of compartments arranged like a network of exhibits. Perhaps you need to go around it to unveil the marvels it encapsulates?

The cabinet of mirages is inspired by the secret cabinets of the Renaissance, built as miniature stage sets that manipulate perspectives in small mirror theatres, or hide drawers within other drawers. Instead of keeping treasures out of sight, this piece of furniture is used to showcase small objects. It is designed for collectors who want to display the finds they have gleaned during their travels. Through constant dialogue with the ARC’s craftspeople, this piece of furniture, designed to be adjusted according to what is on display, can be unfolded on different 360-degree axes.
The cabinet of mirages is designed like a miniature building, made up of twenty drawers that reveal themselves in various mirror effects.

The illusions then generated create staircases that unfold endlessly, mirascope- windows that imitate volumes, alcoves with reverse perspective, drawers that mutate into kaleidoscopes… Dressed in anamorphoses, the central space is topped with balconies featuring screen-printed marquetry, whose proportions are simulated by an oblique mirror. A set of turned aluminium bases completes the roof of the unit. These removable forms are reminiscent of the mounts that support the precious objects of fifteenth century cabinets; they are designed to be placed at will in the various drawers of the cabinet. The visit to the cabinet of mirages is punctuated by many surprises, such as the drawer for triptychs, a drawer that activates mechanically when opened so that the eye can be drawn to the precious objects; without forgetting a perfume drawer that preserves its fragrances at the centre of the piece of furniture and reveals them when it opens by swirling like a twist.

Close collaboration with the ARC’s wood and metal workshops made it possible to combine the structural and mechanical requirements of the project.
Designed specifically to house the cabinet of mirages, the scenography of Le Jardin secret de bleu chardon aims to immerse spectators inside the cabinet. Inspired by the Chambers of Wonder of the Renaissance, the space is presented as a pastoral stroll around collected and gathered objects. In this mise en abyme of the cabinet in the exhibition room, several designers have been invited to address the theme of gleaning to inhabit both the cabinet and the various alcoves that make up the space. The scenography of Le Jardin secret de bleu chardon received support from the villa Noailles, the Toulon Design Parade team and its partners, the Research and Creation Workshop of the Mobilier National, the tapestry-decor workshop, the restoration workshops, the curators of the collections and the Mobilier National teams; Pierre Frey, the European Confederation of Flax and Hemp, Flos, Bob Carrelage, Make’s, Gallery L’œil de KO.

With the creative participation of Aëla Maï, Aglaé Poisson, Benjamin Dosgheas, Brieuc Maire, Chloé Saksik, Clément Garcia, Dé-teintes, Emma Bruschi, Fanny Canel, Guillaume Corbin, Marie Baffard, Marius Perraud, Reem Saleh, Sacha Parent, Thierry Lerch and Valentine Tiraboschi.