Mimêsis - nature at the origins of innovation

Nature abounds in inventive solutions, the fruit of four billion years of evolution and selection, whose effectiveness has been proven on a living scale. Numerous examples from botany, zoology and geology have given rise to remarkable biomimetic applications: lotus and hydrophobic coatings; burdock and Velcro; morpho butterfly and Morphotex textile; spider silk and synthetic silk; mussel byssus and glues, etc.By bringing the natural environment into dialogue with the human innovations it inspires, “Mimêsis” invites the public to rediscover nature from a new angle: that of its intelligence, diversity and inestimable value. It also offers us a lesson in humility, given the complex and often energy-consuming means that humans must mobilise to try and match what nature achieves with elegant economy of means.