Prix Flair → Alexis Foiny

Alexis Foiny’s “Resurgence” project was selected for the third edition of Prix Flair. He uses olfactory art as an archive of botanical species that are destined to disappear, flora that we will soon no longer be able to touch or see, but only remember through scent. This project embodies solastalgia, nostalgia for a lost paradise, a favorite subject of the artist. The flora studied will be that of the Mascarene archipelago, where more than 41% of biodiversity is threatened with extinction, according to a study conducted by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

In the exhibition, the scent of the Stinking Tree becomes a tangible presence and an olfactory memory of what is disappearing. Through its pungent, acrid, and dense aroma of rancid oil, this wood once told the story of an ecosystem where its pollen-rich white flowers attracted bees and flying foxes, and where the nuts depended on animals such as land tortoises for seed dispersal—interactions now disrupted by the scarcity of tortoises and the alteration of natural habitats. The project also highlights human uses: in traditional Réunionese medicine, infusions made from the bark or leaves were consumed to treat fever and asthma or to aid digestion. “Resurgences” invites awareness of the pressures driving this plant—one example among many—toward extinction: urbanization, soil artificialization, the loss of ecological mutualisms, and climate change. The work transforms scent into a living archive, engaging in dialogue with the research of the Mascarin National Botanical Conservatory, where in situ and ex situ conservation and regeneration efforts are underway for these endangered species.

Alexis Foiny is an artist and designer who graduated from the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (EnsAD) in Paris in 2021. His work lies at the intersection of design, art, and science, which he brings together through narrative forms that combine scientific rigor and fictional imagination. This transdisciplinary approach aims to question established design frameworks and propose new, sensitive ways of approaching research and creation. Committed to inclusive and ecological approaches, Alexis Foiny develops a practice that is attentive to contemporary social and environmental issues.

In 2021, he received the ADAGP Revelation Design Award for his diploma project Tant que les fleurs existeront encore (As Long as Flowers Still Exist), a speculative investigation into Astiria Rosea, a flower that disappeared from Mauritius in 1860. This fictional botanical reconstruction was presented at the MAC VAL as part of the group exhibition Histoires Vraies (True Stories), as well as at the Martell Corporate Foundation.