Portrait of Léa Camilleri © Léa Camilleri

This week, Artsper met up with activist and Youtuber, Léa Camilleri. On her YouTube channel, you'll find a host of videos documenting her adventures, her friends, and her environmental actions. Léa shares with us the details of her everyday life, her travels, her fight for the planet and, especially, her taste for art! Discover our interview with this multifaceted YouTuber, whose work never ceases to inspire the next generation!

1. Hello Léa! Thank you for taking time to chat with us. Could you start by introducing yourself to our readers? 

My name is Léa Camilleri (welcomeeee Léa), I have been creating videos since I was 14 years old. I don't have a different handle or funky username on social media. I started on YouTube in 2012 and I am now a full-time video creator on the platform. I think 14 year old Léa would be surprised to see the impact of these videos! 

2. You travel a lot in your videos, and manage to do so in the most ecological way possible. How do you manage to alert young people to environmental issues?

All things considered, I would say that I started traveling quite late. I was 25 years old when I took my first long-haul flight. While traveling, I began to post pictures of what I saw and inevitably, I realized that I was not traveling in the “right way," and without considering the factors which impact the travel industry, such as ecology and mass tourism. So I decided to fly less, or at least very little, and also to discuss environmental and animal protection issues as much as possible when I post about a trip or a destination. Today, I travel much closer to home. I like to show how France is full of treasures and incredible landscapes. I always try to have a tone that is not moralistic, the goal being to ask questions together with my community and to try to find sustainable solutions.

Photographs of Léa on her travels in Japan © Léa Camilleri

3. What environmental art work has touched you the most?

Lorenzo Quinn's sculpture at COP25 to warn about rising sea levels, I was lucky enough to see the work in Venice during a shoot! It is extremely meaningful and powerful for anyone looking at those two huge hands on the wall.

4. How would you say contemporary art can be useful for the ecological cause?

I think that art can raise a crisis of conscience in many fields, so why not the environment and our relationship to life, quite simply!

Photographs of Léa picking up plastic from the Prado beach in Marseille; Léa taking part in the "Tara Pacific" expedition in Micronesia, to understand the evolution of coral in the face of global warming © Léa Camilleri 

5. You are already a collector on Artsper. Could you tell us about the pieces you purchased, or the artworks you appreciate in general?

I'm a child of the ' 80s, with a huge nostalgic affinity for old iconic movie posters. I could look at Laurent Durieux's posters for hours, just trying to understand their hidden meaning. I also love Drew Struzan's paintings and illustrations, his works rocked my childhood as well as Back to the Future, Blade Runner, E.T...! My interior design at home is a mix of these posters, objects found around the world, plants and small pop culture objects.

6. Can you tell us about a future project you are working on or would like to work on ?

I'm writing a script for a short film about coming-of-age nostalgia. Stay tuned, there's a lot to talk about there…