Déjeuner dans l’herbe – Thierry Boutonnier and the far° Nyon

The book Déjeuner dans l’herbe is the fruit of a collaboration between Thierry Boutonnier and far°, and retraces the artist’s project with the residents of chemin d’Usteri in Nyon.

During participatory workshops with the local residents, Thierry Boutonnier sought to artistically produce specific knowledge of their respective gardens, in terms of the fauna and flora on its surface and in its terrestrial depths. Accompanied by various specialists, they embroidered cotton tablecloths with gold thread and buried them to bio-activate underground life, developed recipes based on what they picked in the gardens, organised an informative picnic about the gardens, and so on.

Déjeuner dans l’herbe traces this process through texts, photos and interviews, and is complemented by writings by Paul Ardenne, Elisabeth Chardon and Joëlle Zask, among others.

« Déjeuner dans l’herbe is an invitation to connect with the soil by combining knowledge and practices. The fruit of a long-term collaboration between an artistic and scientific team, the residents of a street in the town of Nyon, vernacular gardens and the far° festival et fabrique des arts vivants team, the book is intended to be a practical and cheerful guide to the ecological transition.

Multi-faceted, Déjeuner dans l’herbe is in turn a pedological investigation into the secret networks of the subsoil, a philosophical questioning of our way of standing on the earth, a poetic and experimental embroidery, a sensitive harvest, a recipe book and a tribute to artistic earthworms. »

Déjeuner dans l’herbe is currently available to order from Nathalie Garbely at participation@far-nyon.ch for CHF 30.