At LASIRE (Advanced Spectrometry Laboratory for Interactions, Reactivity and the Environment, UMR CNRS 8516 – University of Lille), a research team is investigating the effects of environmental chemical contamination on the allergenic potential of pollen. They are particularly interested in how pollutants alter the biological and allergenic properties of these microscopic grains, at the intersection of environmental, health and climate issues.
In her studio, Karine Bonneval draws on botanical, animal and human forms to create hybrid works blending craftsmanship and contemporary technologies. Her installations offer sensitive ecologies where breathing, moving and listening alongside plants becomes a shared experience. Straddling popular culture and scientific research, she invites us to embrace ‘phytomorphism’, a way of inhabiting the world in the manner of plants. Her work is developed alongside professional and amateur practitioners across a variety of disciplines: science, philosophy, performance, market gardening, gastronomy...
Since 2021, Karine Bonneval and the LASIRE research team have been collaborating on projects where scientific investigation and artistic exploration intertwine around a tiny yet central organism: allergenic pollen. Their dialogue gives rise to new, sensitive and speculative forms, helping us to reconnect with these invisible particles that orchestrate the reproduction of life. The birch tree, and the ecosystem it supports, becomes one of the central themes.The first space displays the findings of the Pollentour’s explorations: images of pollen paper chromatograms, lichens from the six birch trees visited in their natural habitats, and the more or less polluted soils in which they grow.

‘Whispers of the Birch’ is a piece of domestic furniture made of wickerwork and tufted carpet, where one can hear the sap rising. It stands alongside two papier-mâché gourds made of cardboard, designed to capture the sounds of the soil and the trunks of the six birch trees studied by LASIRE.he ‘Akènes’ is a new series of five pieces made from wood-fired stoneware at La Borne. Urns give off the scent of essential oils or birch tar; various tools and hooks collect petals made from recycled paper, along with leaves or seeds from the tree, or even pollen biscuits.
The Berkanan fountain of youth makes the liquid sparkle in white basins.
Beneath a shower of pollen, it is like a chandelier made of pollen-infused soaps: tears of pollen. In the background, a small theatre draped with landscape-curtains depicting the microscopic encounter between tears and birch pollen.
The exhibition then opens with a series of wind chimes exploring pollen carried by insects: these delicate, quivering pieces use petals and chromatograms to map out two territories – the 2km² transect in Paris-Saclay and individual accounts from residents of Saigon.