How do you tell the story of Mauritius without words?

Mauritian Encounter: A Conversation with Daphné Doomun

How do you tell the story of Mauritius without words?

Mauritius is often discovered through its landscapes. The blue of the lagoon, the mountains, the beaches, the light that shifts throughout the day. Daphné Doomun, however, has always seen the island through the eyes of an artist.

Franco-Mauritian, she draws inspiration from another side of the island: its lush vegetation, deep greens, tropical flowers and nature that seems to command attention wherever you look. A world that has long inspired her work and has also found its way into Legend Hill, where one of her creations now sits in dialogue with the landscape that inspired it.

With Daphné, we wanted to explore how Mauritius can be told through colour rather than words.

Portrait of Daphné

Mauritius in one colour?
Deep green. The colour of the dense, abundant vegetation that shapes the island’s landscapes.

Mauritius in one scent?
A delicate blend of fresh floral notes. The fragrances that naturally fill its gardens and tropical vegetation.

Mauritius in one sound?
Birdsong. A sound woven into the island’s natural surroundings.

Mauritius in one word?
Mysterious. Because beyond what you discover at first glance, Mauritius always keeps something yet to be revealed.

When you think of Mauritius, what is the first image that comes to mind?

Above all, the lushness of its vegetation.

There is a natural abundance that immediately catches the eye. In Mauritius, vegetation is everywhere: in gardens, across the hillsides, along the roads. It shapes the landscape and gives the island so much of its colour.

That is probably the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Mauritius: this abundance of greenery, almost instinctively associated with the island.

Is there a particular light, colour or detail of the island that keeps finding its way into your work, almost without you realising it? And how did this inspiration come to life in your creation for Legend Hill?

Green, without question. It has become something of a recurring thread throughout my work.

And there is never really just one shade of green. Depending on the plants, the light or the surroundings, it takes on countless nuances. When you live surrounded by so much vegetation, it naturally finds its way into what you create.

For Legend Hill, nestled into the mountainside, it therefore felt natural to echo the environment surrounding it. I worked with foliage and flowers to bring that tropical abundance into the piece.

Another way, ultimately, of bringing the landscape indoors.

→ Discover Legend Hill and its surroundings

If you could show someone Mauritius through just one of your works, which would you choose, and why?

I would probably choose Cueillette Tropicale. For me, it is the piece that best captures the abundance and botanical essence of the island.

It does not depict a specific place in Mauritius, and that is precisely what I like about it: you do not always need to show a landscape to tell the story of the place from which it was born.

Vegetation, a few colours and an atmosphere can sometimes be enough to evoke an island in an entirely different way.

Is creating in Mauritius different from creating elsewhere? And what role does the island’s cultural diversity play in its art?

It is difficult for me to make a comparison because my creative roots have always been here. But it is hard to live surrounded by such visual richness — the vegetation, the colours, the landscapes — without being influenced by it in one way or another.

And Mauritius is, of course, far more than its landscapes. It is an island shaped by many different cultures and influences. This cultural diversity does not dictate a single artistic style. Instead, it offers a vast library of references from which each artist can draw to forge their own identity.

Perhaps that is precisely what makes Mauritian art so rich: there is no single way to tell the story of Mauritius.

→ Discover how Mauritius inspires those who create here

When you look at Mauritian art today, what do you see changing or emerging?

I feel it is increasingly moving beyond postcard imagery to tell the story of the island from within.

Immersive murals, exhibitions in alternative spaces and the emergence of creative hubs are gradually reshaping the local artistic landscape.

New ways of creating are emerging and, with them, new ways of portraying Mauritius.

If a traveller wanted to discover Mauritius through art and creativity rather than its landscapes, where would you take them?

Beyond the lagoons, I would encourage them to lose themselves in the streets of Port Louis and discover its street art.

Walking through its streets, looking at its walls and seeing how artists make the city their canvas is also another way of reading Mauritius.

The Last Look

“In Mauritius, I dream of dodos.” — Daphné Doomun