Written by Marie-Sophie Schaupp, Founder of Maison Diaphane — Last updated: August 3, 2026
For the “Paper Dreams” exhibition in Angers, illustrator Benjamin Lacombe personally chose to collaborate with Diaphane Projects to create two exclusive fragrances, Curiosity and Green Garden, to extend his graphic universe into scent.
At the Collegiate Church of Saint-Martin in Angers, Benjamin Lacombe's universe unfolds in an immersive exhibition where over a hundred original works invite both young and old to step into his worlds: childhood, tales, nature, dreamed Japan, and suspended atmospheres.
To enrich this experience, Benjamin Lacombe personally wished to collaborate with Diaphane Projects to create two exclusive fragrances to accompany the exhibition. This is how the fragrances Curiosity and Green Garden were born.
Why scent an illustration exhibition?
An illustration exhibition primarily engages the eye: the lines, colors, and compositions. But a graphic universe as rich as Benjamin Lacombe's – populated by tales, forests, and wonderful creatures – calls for an even more complete immersion.
Fragrance offers an additional, more intimate gateway into this imaginary world. Where the eye scans a plate in a few seconds, a scent settles in, accompanies the stroll through the rooms, and leaves an impression that lingers long after the visit. It is this complementary sensory dimension that Diaphane Projects was invited to imagine for “Paper Dreams.”
Two fragrances, two doors to his imagination
Curiosity evokes a wondrous cabinet that opens with a single gesture. Deep, velvety, and slightly mysterious, this fragrance captures the wonder and fascination evoked by the artist's drawings – that sensation of pushing a hidden door into a world populated by secrets and fantastic creatures.
Green Garden explores another facet of his universe: dreamed gardens, secret clearings, inner landscapes. Vegetal, luminous, and soothing, this fragrance accompanies the visitor with a gentle breath, like a moment of pause between two rooms, a calm interlude during the visit.
Together, the two fragrances create a complete olfactory journey: on one side, intensity and mystery, on the other, lightness and tranquility – two complementary facets of the same creative universe.
A major artist, a rare exhibition
At 43, Benjamin Lacombe is one of the leading figures in new French illustration, with nearly fifty published works and over 3 million copies sold.
The exhibition presents original works from The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, as well as the always-late White Rabbit. As a preview, the first illustrations from his upcoming album The Great Gatsby are also unveiled.
Located in a heritage site in the city center of Angers, the exhibition offers a unique setting for this encounter between illustration and fragrance, between architectural heritage and contemporary creation.
A diffusion designed never to overshadow the artworks
In an exhibition space, the olfactory presence must serve the artworks, never taking center stage. Curiosity and Green Garden were designed to subtly permeate the rooms, at an intensity that accompanies the stroll without ever diverting attention from the displayed originals.
This restraint is essential in a cultural context: fragrance acts as an additional soul, a sensory layer that enriches the interpretation of images without ever competing with them.
When image meets fragrance
Specially created by Diaphane Projects at Benjamin Lacombe's request, the Curiosity and Green Garden fragrances allow visitors to breathe in his universe as much as to contemplate it. Scent becomes an additional door to his imagination, an immersive and delicate sensory experience.
This collaboration illustrates a lesser-known facet of Diaphane Projects' work: beyond olfactory identities for hotels, boutiques, and lounges, bespoke creation can also accompany an artist, a work, an exhibition – anywhere an emotion deserves to be extended into scent.
Project: olfactory identity — Exhibition “Paper Dreams” by Benjamin Lacombe, Angers (49).
What if your universe also had its own fragrance?
At Diaphane Projects, we believe that fragrance can extend any creation: a brand, a place, but also an artwork, an exhibition, an event.
From creation to diffusion, we support each project to add an extra sensory dimension to an already strong universe.