Two benches are hidden in the undergrowth on the île aux fagots. The first one is functional, and made up of incurving wooden panels which encircle the trees. The second, more improbable, opens out in a crescent shape, reaching up to the foliage and taking the shape of a canopy. Although the curves of these works have been fashioned by an ironworker, Annie Slack, and a designer, Annemarie O’Sullivan, the softness of their lines would almost have you believe that these objects have emerged spontaneously from the thicket. With their delicate wooden arcs, it could be said that in fact it’s nature, and not man, which has shaped, stretched and deformed their framework, which thus reflects the sensitivity of the fragile and shifting landscape of the Hortillonnages.

Annie Slack, born in 1979, is a silversmith and designer. She questions the uniqueness of industrial products and the handmade. She designs and makes a range of  objects, from furniture to light fittings and jewellery. Annemarie O’Sullivan, born in 1972, is a basketmaker. She uses natural materials such as willow and coppiced ash, to produce domestic objects and larger installations. She is inspired by the curves of the landscape and ancient crafts.