Giá Thể are Vietnamese compositions in which dry pieces of wood or stones support independent landscapes of plants and flowers. Questioning the Western dichotomy of nature and artifice, these balanced environments are the result of human action and natural existence. The intention is to build a Giá Thể on the shores of the lake: a contained landscape that provokes a common understanding of Lake Geneva as a natural presence.

The starting point for this intervention is a simple summer game: dig a hole in the sand on the beach and find water underneath. Five squares, made out of local reclaimed stone, form a mineral archipelago on Vidy beach, capable of welcoming new small, balanced environments inhabited by aquatic plants commonly found on Lake Geneva.

The scale and juxtaposition of the different squares suggest a different approach to human use of the shore, allowing visitors to interact with the landscape and the plants in new ways. The water of the lake is revealed in a defined state, and the distinction between the “natural” lake and the new “artificial” basins becomes apparent in its ambiguity.