At the origin of this series, there was a discovery, a revelation, brought about by Louise Bourgeois' drawings. The title "Femme-Maison" belongs to her, so I made it my own. First as a tribute. Then as a raison d'être.

For me, the "Femme-Maison" is the allegory of the contemporary woman: emancipated, independent, capable of carrying/supporting her architecture, her house, her life alone. Like many women today, I'm sensitive to this model. Yet I live in a society where male or traditional models wield a lot of power. I say models, but they could well be clichés. The man-as-pillar. Protective architecture, to be sure, but one that walls us in.

I want to be a "Femme-Maison". Become my own caryatid. Embody the metaphor. Inhabit my name viscerally too. I am, after all, a Maison. First name Anne-Laure.

I inscribe this approach on walls. In the city, in life, for all to see. I claim my freedom. My collages are not a quiet act. I challenge myself. With a beating heart. And yet, once this furtive act is over, I feel a sense of calm and solidity, like the walls on which I place my mark. The walls of the city. The walls of life. The walls of me, woman and Maison.