top of page

LES CYGNES SAUVAGES

Text by Kenneth White | Photographs by Marie-Claude White

MOTIF 1920-1920.jpg

Edition:

  • 30 copies

  • 5 non-commercial copies (not for sale), numbered I to V

  • All copies are signed by the author and the artist.

Publication date: March 2022

Box size: 42,5 x 32,7 cm

Book size: 28,5 x 22 cm

Price: 3 500 €

BOOK OF THE WAY

Les Cygnes sauvages (Wild Swans) is part of Kenneth White’s waybooks series. With this work — at once a travelogue and a collection of haikus — the contemporary philosopher leads the reader from the tentacular city of Tokyo to the untamed isle of Hokkaido in the late Eighties. With a blend of freestyle verse and nimble observations about mass culture in Japan, he draws the reader along on a pilgrimage in the footsteps of the poet Bashō who, three centuries earlier, traveled this very road to the deep North.

la nuit du livre prix editions leal torres

The book Les Cygnes sauvages was awarded the Jury’s Coup de Cœur Prize at the 2023 Nuit du Livre.

Couverture des Cygnes sauvages
Les Cygnes sauvages

A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

This collectible re-edition, a monument in his œuvre, is a physical and spiritual journey accompanied by three series of photographs by the author’s wife, Marie-Claude White, who also translated the work. Seen through the photographer’s lens, seaweed, bark and foam become delicate prints that transport the viewer to Japan’s distant landscapes.

YUKO KITTA

Each book is a unique piece and is presented wrapped in a linen slipcover by the Japanese artist Yuko Kitta, who uses all-natural dyes to make gradient indigo envelopes, offering a companion piece for this artwork.

Livre d'artiste Les Cygnes sauvages
Livre artiste Les cygnes sauvages
les cygnes sauvages pochettes
Boite du livre d'artiste Les Cygnes sauvages

ARTISANAL ARTS

Made of wood, fabric, glass and paper, this precious book — produced in a limited edition of 30 examples — is a sensual experience as much as a dive into the relationship between man and Earth that is essential to restore.

AUTHORS, ARTISTS AND ARTISANS

The rare book as a living space of creation, art, and memory

les editions leal torres

KENNETH WHITE

Author

Born in Glasgow, Kenneth White (1936–2023) was a Scottish writer who became a naturalized French citizen. Renowned for his work combining essays, narratives, and poetry, he won numerous literary prizes, taught at the Sorbonne and founded the International Institute of Geopoetics. His concept of intellectual nomadism, explored in works such as L’Esprit nomade (The Nomad Spirit), led him to a profound reflection on the relationships between humans and the Earth, ideas that are at the heart of his geopoetic approach.

les editions leal torres

MARIE-CLAUDE WHITE

Photograph

Marie-Claude White is a French photographer and translator. Her work explores the intimate relationship between nature and art through a geopoetic approach. Her photographic series, inspired by the world's shores, forests, and landscapes, demonstrate a profound connection with the living.

les editions leal torres

V&P AGENCEMENT

DAVID VOISIN

David Voisin, a graduate of the Boulle School and a skilled craftsman, creates bas-reliefs and designs high-end wooden fittings at V&P Agencement. Co-founder of an association of artisans of the decorative arts, he oversaw its development until 2015 and created the luxe à la française (French Luxury) trade show.

les editions leal torres

IMPRIMERIE NATIONALE

Atelier du Livre d'art et de l'Estampe de l'Imprimerie Nationale

The origin of the Atelier du Livre d'Art et de l'Estampe (Art Book and Print Workshop) dates back to 1538, when Francis I appointed the first king's printer for Greek, a founding act in the history of printed writing in France. Heir to the Royal Printing House founded in 1640, which successively became the Imprimerie de la République, Imperial, and National Printing House, it preserves a unique collection of punches, listed as a historic monument. Drawing on rare expertise spanning the entire typographic and intaglio printing chain, the workshop collaborates with artists and publishers on exceptional projects.

les editions leal torres

ATELIERS MORET

MATTHIEU PERRAMANT

Matthieu Perrament, a graduate of the Estienne School, has been an art printer specializing in intaglio and screen printing for over a decade. Trained by master artists and artisans in Paris and Montreal, he took over the Atelier Moret with Didier Manonvillier, while also developing a children's publishing business with Le Moulin des Tournelles.

les editions leal torres

YUKO KITTA

Master of art

Yuko Kitta is a Japanese artist who masters the entire textile creation process, from the cultivation of dye plants to production. Since 2011, she has been developing her workshop in Okinawa, where she creates clothing and installations rooted in an ecological approach, aiming for a natural return of materials to the earth. She primarily uses Ryukyu indigo, which she cultivates, along with other local plants, to create her natural dyes.

les editions leal torres

ATELIER CASAL

CÉLIA CASAL

Trained in visual communication and bookbinding at the Estienne school, Célia Casal perfected her technique with renowned bookbinders. In 2012, she opened her workshop in Burgundy, where she combines editorial design with contemporary custom bookbinding. Winner of the Ateliers d'art de France Prize in 2013, she exhibited her Kumo Arashi art stationery collection in collaboration with Florian Aviet at the Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2016.

les editions leal torres

VERGLASS°

JULIE JOHNSON

Founded in 2007 in Paimpol by Julie Johnson and Éric Lemarié, the Verglass° workshop specializes in cane-blown glass. Known for their high standards and creativity, the two master craftsmen create unique, high-end pieces, entirely made in their atelier. Julie Johnson draws her inspiration from a notebook she always keeps close at hand, letting spontaneity guide her creations.

Contact us

Please contact us to learn more about our artist’s books, arrange a private viewing, or share an acquisition project. We would be delighted to discuss these rare and singular works with you.

contact@editionslealtorres.com

790 Avenue Maurice Donat BAT D

06250 Mougins

bottom of page