Around the World in Paris - LTDMAP

LTDMAP,

more than a brand, a different vision of the world

Le Tour du Monde à Paris — A World Tour of Paris — is the result of decades of artistic and human exploration, shaped by a deeply humanist, inclusive and environmentally conscious vision of the world.

It all began with an obvious truth: I was a painter on one side, a street photographer on the other. I wanted to bring the two together. After years of being told that my paintings would make beautiful fabrics, I created a first collection of prints on organic cotton made in France — and launched the Capitales project: photographing women and girls of all ages, in seven cities across four continents (London, Paris, New York, Moscow, Santiago de Cuba, Kathmandu…)

The protocol is simple in principle and inexhaustible in its effects: I hand over my fabric, the person costumes themselves however they wish, and I photograph them. This gesture, draping, transforming, playing with a simple piece of cloth, is one of the most universal there is. It summons the inner child in everyone. And that is precisely why it produces portraits of rare authenticity, in under an hour, with people I have never met and will often never see again.

It was in Kathmandu, photographing some of the world's most destitute women, that I understood something irreversible: if clothes don't make the monk, they do make dignity. That revelation changed forever the way I think about art and its role in the world.

From Capitales to Paris

In 2020, I chose to stop taking planes to photograph strangers on the other side of the world. Paris is a world city — I found the whole world here. The project became Le Tour du Monde à Paris - LTDMAP, and I created Studio Balmeer in the 15th arrondissement of Paris to ensure the highest photographic quality.

An ecosystem in service of causes close to my heart

Inspired by permaculture thinking applied to organisations, I have built an ecosystem around the project with several dimensions:

For companies : original, eco-responsible and artistic team building and CSR projects, with products and communication tools made in France.

For associations : a way to give visibility to their causes, volunteers and users, and to raise funds through crowdfunding.

For spaces :  transforming places often stripped of beauty (schools, hospitals, canteens, factories, sorting centres…) into galleries and spaces of celebration. Creating connection and meaning where it is least expected.

Through this work, I contribute to causes that matter deeply to me: combating violence against women, prisoner rehabilitation, ecological transition, and support for people with disabilities.

Fabrics & products

The motifs I create for LTDMAP are printed on 5m × 1.5m organic cotton fabrics made in France, and also available as everyday products in the L'Art du quotidien section.

All collaboration proposals — modest or ambitious — are welcome.

→ Find out more at letourdumondeaparis.com → Contact us