Synopsis
Gilles Clément is a gardener who initiated a conceptual and practical philosophy which radically transformed the contemporary vision of the landscape. Carried by a specific vocabulary which assigns the gardener a strong role in the thought of the world, his work has been experienced in his garden located in La Vallée, in the Creuse, since 1977. His description of the changing world, both rich and threatened, has left a deep mark on the general public and specialists. Teaching gardeners to “know what not to do”, showing the “third landscape”, he renewed the gaze on the botanical richness of the wasteland and showed its political power.
A word from Tënk
The career and life of Gilles Clément show that it’s possible to develop deep insights from a consideration of seemingly very ordinary things like fallow land, dirt or seaweed! Whether its pesticides or insects (which play a fundamental role in the ecosystem, even if our first instinct is to try and exterminate them…), life and the planet or pedagogy and the Anthropocene, this self-identified gardener reveals himself to be a profound, vital and political philosopher. This captivating discussion, both stimulating and savant, explores both his fertile concepts and concrete accomplishments, with the effect of shattering some of our most fossilized ideas.
Arnaud Lambert
Filmmaker
