This journey into the Mauritian world of color took me to remarkable places. From the outdoor benches of a Hindu temple to the leafy treasures of the Mauritian old Herbarium, drinking a syrupy juice in the cozy living room of a famsaz (traditional midwife) to a painting studio. From our Creole language to our colonial history, from our beliefs to our fears. I embarked on a fascinating journey into the mind, spirit, and heart of Mauritius.

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"Mots Kouler" is a panoramic project I didn’t undertake alone. To create this book, my steps led me to meet fascinating and passionate individuals. Their stories and insights are woven throughout these pages. Historians, linguists, anthropologists, literature experts, Sega musicians, or even plant experts from Mauritius… but also a village midwife or a priest. The breadth of their knowledge is remarkable, and they shared it with me with great generosity.

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Talented friends brought their perspectives and imagination to this wild idea. Photographers, painters, artists whose sensitivity and emotion resonate with us. Shirin Gunny's ingenious inventiveness, Azim Moolan's quirky universe, Vincent Montocchio's technicolor joy. Yohann Lim Fat's evocative melancholy, Laval Ng whose pencil gives life, Alix le Juge and her dreamy clouds, François Wiehe's sensitive gaze. Tiery Li's creativity. Anne-Clotilde St Mart's fantastical inner ocean, Joëlle Maestracci's experimental surprises. They all contributed to this kaleidoscopic project.

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And without the overflowing imagination and creative vitality of Nelly Yiptong, "Mots Kouler" might have remained a mere list of color names in a dull document.

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Instead, it is a vibrant experience, an object filled with stains, crumbs, bits of torn paper, sketches, origami. It contains photographs, processes, montages, installations, quotes, poems, reflections, facts, memories. It is an exploration of form and content. It's not a thesis, not a photography book, not a travelogue, not even a novel. It's all of these at once. With a good dose of whimsy and joy.