Playful and pastel: Alexis Jamet’s work continues to perk up our interaction with nature

Alexis Jamet’s posters, drawings and design work reference his surroundings with a daring subtlety. When we last spoke to him in 2019, he was producing client work for the likes of Nike with abstracted nature animations. And over the past few years, he’s been drawn to picturing nature, figures and objects in a still-life style reminiscent of a blurred lens or eye trying to focus. He is a master of composition, using a beautiful palette of jewel tones, bringing together splodges, shards and sprays of textural abstract shapes in such appealing ways.

Born and raised in Amboise – a small town in the centre of France – and currently based in Paris, one of his chief creative influences is the biologist-turned-photographer Jochen Lempert. Fostering an early obsession with his work due to the way he portrayed nature, Alexis initially started his journey trying to mimic his photographic style. “I was looking for the same film in order to get the same grain, and even the same 50mm lens.” He’s also captivated by the work of Georges Schwizgebel, who originally trained as a graphic designer, and strongly admires the animator’s connection with music.

Excited by how he can best “represent music visually,” he expresses this passion in his design for Matías Enaut’s album Éclats (translating to brilliant or dazzling display), while also continuing two ongoing collaborations. “Matías asked me to think about the art direction and promotion of the album,” Alexis shares. “Then I decided to work with visual artist Manon Cezaro again, as her plaster works best suit the title of the album because of its fragile nature and very sharp edges”. Being the first time that Matías wanted to show his face forward in the artwork – his 2021 album Le bruit des pétales, which was also inspired by Alexis’ eponymous design project, featured abstracted plants and petals, and his debut Nuées donned a navy blue background with lines evocative of a pop rhythm – Alexis was also in charge of taking photos and working on the scenography alongside Manon. When it came to the specifics, “Manon scanned around fifty pieces of painted plaster which I then used to compose the images,” Alexis tells us. And the pantone silver, that shimmers reflecting excellence in the background of naturesque cut outs, was a “natural choice” used to reflect the album title’s meaning.

“Usually when I’m designing a vinyl record, I’m either asked to just do an illustration for the cover or to do the whole thing, without any photography,” Alexis shares. Highlighting this addition to his process as an “exciting change” he looks forward to more opportunities to work more broadly on projects and collaborate with more artists. Having recently released a book, White Shirts Pink Shorts, with Manon and working on a number of other duo projects with the artist, he has well and truly cemented the spirit of collaboration in his work. And as we reflect on his work of the past year, we stand in awe of the designer’s ability to visually portray even the most subtle of references and scenes.

Some parts of this article have been edited.