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_Garum_ is a sauce with salty and umami flavors, obtained through the prolonged fermentation of fish or guts in brine, with origins in Phoenician and Greek culinary traditions. Adopted and widely produced in ancient Rome, this prized condiment, once the privilege of the wealthy, held a central role in gastronomy. In French, a « jus » is the natural juice of an animal product, obtained through cooking, pressing, or maceration. In painting, it refers to a lightly pigmented medium used primarily as a ground to prepare the surface for the application of color. Thanks to its ability to reveal, deepen, or enhance, the « jus » is used to highlight certain subtleties within compositions. Born within the intimacy of a Parisian bistro, the collaboration between visual artist Lola Bresson and chef Antoine Vauthier brings painting and gastronomy into dialogue. Driven by a shared attention to detail and a fascination with the transformation of the body, the duo invites us, through its interpretation of garum, to look where the resilience of life quietly unfolds. Lola Bresson meticulously documented the stages of the mackerel elixir’s production, then translated the metamorphosis of anatomies into oil painting over the three months of fermentation required by Antoine Vauthier’s recipe. Following a shared choreography, they developed their compositions within a single space-time. Experimentation takes center stage, blending the rigor of an almost scientific protocol with careful attention to gesture, form, and texture. Under the influence of salt and time, the fish’s natural enzymes break down the flesh from the inside, transforming it into a liquid. Once fermentation is complete, two phases can be distinguished: garum, the liquid part, and allec, the solid residue. Limits blur and then disappear, and what appears to be annihilation reveals itself as a form of rebirth. It is from its own loss that the organism draws the strength to reinvent itself, in ways invisible to the naked eye.

Garum [March 2026]

© Marine Bosi

Garum is a sauce with salty and umami flavors, obtained through the prolonged fermentation of fish or guts in brine, with origins in Phoenician and Greek culinary traditions. Adopted and widely produced in ancient Rome, this prized condiment, once the privilege of the wealthy, held a central role in gastronomy. In French, a « jus » is the natural juice of an animal product, obtained through cooking, pressing, or maceration. In painting, it refers to a lightly pigmented medium used primarily as a ground to prepare the surface for the application of color. Thanks to its ability to reveal, deepen, or enhance, the « jus » is used to highlight certain subtleties within compositions. Born within the intimacy of a Parisian bistro, the collaboration between visual artist Lola Bresson and chef Antoine Vauthier brings painting and gastronomy into dialogue. Driven by a shared attention to detail and a fascination with the transformation of the body, the duo invites us, through its interpretation of garum, to look where the resilience of life quietly unfolds. Lola Bresson meticulously documented the stages of the mackerel elixir’s production, then translated the metamorphosis of anatomies into oil painting over the three months of fermentation required by Antoine Vauthier’s recipe. Following a shared choreography, they developed their compositions within a single space-time. Experimentation takes center stage, blending the rigor of an almost scientific protocol with careful attention to gesture, form, and texture. Under the influence of salt and time, the fish’s natural enzymes break down the flesh from the inside, transforming it into a liquid. Once fermentation is complete, two phases can be distinguished: garum, the liquid part, and allec, the solid residue. Limits blur and then disappear, and what appears to be annihilation reveals itself as a form of rebirth. It is from its own loss that the organism draws the strength to reinvent itself, in ways invisible to the naked eye.