Artist, sound designer, DJ, and muse, Inès Mélia is one of those multi-talented people who are as fascinating as they are fascinated. To celebrate the return of warmer days, Artsper wanted to chat to the woman who makes Paris dance!

Could you talk us through your artistic journey?

I always wanted to be a painter, but I also made lots of music. At the start of the 2000s, I had to get a job alongside my studies and one day a certain Alexandre Maf suggested I learn how to mix. It was mad, I had always been looking for my path and he just offered it to me. Today I also develop sonic concepts with Le Brouhaha, and come up with unique musical identities for hotels and boutiques. When it comes to painting, I want to continue exploring the rhythm of colours.

How do you find inspiration for your paintings?

I take little bits from everywhere, all the time. My last exhibition was inspired by a road trip in the Agafay desert in Morocco; the abstract contours of the scenery and the radiant colours you find there.

Who are the artists that you particularly admire?

Nicolas de Staël, Jean Arp, Henry Moore, Ellsworth Kelly, Gordon Matta Clark, James Turrell…

What are some of your favourite cultural centres?

The Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Lambert Collection in Avignon, and the Long Museum in Shanghai.

Do you have any particular memories of art that have really stuck with you? An emotion, a discovery?

During a visit to Shanghai, I was disorientated and suffocated by this really thick fog, so I decided to escape the heat in the Long Museum. The museum was almost empty; I was escorted down this long tunnel into total, terrifying darkness. I didn't know what was at the end, and every second of the way I just wanted to turn around and go back. But then suddenly, there was this explosion of colour – colour everywhere. That was the day I discovered James Turrell, and it was amazing.

Do you collect art yourself?

I love to be surrounded by things I've found on my travels. The last time I was in Jerusalem I bought a little ceramic Persian vase which dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. I've also brought back a dried out grenade and some stones I found on a beach north of Tel Aviv.