Villa Verte
AND THE GEORGE CAMILLE GALLERY
An Art Lovers’s Retreat
at harmoniously within the surrounds
of a lush forest upon La Digue Island,
Villa Verte is a holiday home that has
been lovingly created and designed by
well known local artist, George Camille.
Featuring colour schemes that reflect the lush
surroundings as well as displaying many of
the artist’s original paintings, this is a retreat
that sings with the promise of a relaxing,
tropical atmosphere and a glimpse into the
laidback and friendly lifestyle of the island.
The fourth largest island of the Seychelles
group, La Digue is considered to be one of
the most beautiful islands with palm–fringed
beaches, towering granite boulders and
turquoise waters and is only a short sail
away from the larger island of Praslin.
The villa is ideally located on the north
east of the island by Anse Gaulettes and is
just a 15 minute cycle to bustling La Passe,
but far enough away to provide a quieter and
more relaxing spot. It was built in 2002 on
the site of a old creole wooden house which
had fallen down, with the gentleman who
constructed it running a small holding there
together with a few farm animals to keep
his lifestyle self sufficient. Ensuring the the
character and story of the site was upheld and
respected, the walls of the ground floor were
made from granite rocks that were broken
on site whilst the land was being cleared for
the construction, whilst the rest of the the
house is clad with timber, allowing the villa
to sit camouflaged within its surroundings.
Today this striking three storey buildinghouses not only holiday accommodation
on the top two floors, but the highly
acclaimed George Camille Gallery on
the ground floor, making it the perfect
accommodation for lovers of the arts.
Villa Verte can comfortably sleep 6 – 8 people
in 3 double ensuite bedrooms, the largest of
which is on the upper floor and has ample
space for an additional 2 single beds. It is
without doubt that the most popular place in
the house is the 36 square metre verandah
with its wooden swing and great views over
the ocean and across to the cluster of islands
that includes Felicite, the sisters islands and
Coco Island. The wooden balustrade and
lambrequin are both hand carved with leaves.
The villa itself is painted green, the colour
of new leaves and is built in the traditional
creole style with quaint wooden shutters hung
on traditional forged metal hinges and locked
with metal crochets all made on La Digue.
If you can pull yourself away from the
enchanting verandah, you’ll find a small
convenience store about 100 meters
away and two restaurants within a short
10 minute walk, all offering fish from the
sea, fruits from the forest and the best of
local produce available on La Digue.
The artwork within Villa Verte has all
been created by the Seychellois artist
George Camille, inspired by local flora and
fauna, creating an eclectic, breezy and
tropical feeling. Camille was born and
continued to live and work in Seychelles
and its Indian Ocean environment inspires,drives and informs everything he does.
‘Living next to the ocean has resulted in its
sounds, smells and beauty being represented
through forms and movements in my work.
Within my aesthetic environment, natural
forms intertwine and overlap, creating a sense
of place recognisable as the multi-layered
panorama of light and texture I see when I
look at the sea and sky every morning.’
George Camille
Over the last twenty six years, etchings has
become Camille’s medium for his more detailed
and figurative work. Having his own press has
allowed him to experiment with a range of
intaglio print techniques, combining a variety
of material and processes to create images
which have shaped the development and
presentation of his personal visual alphabet.
Working mainly on copper plates and using
dry point and acid bite techniques, Camille
produces limited edition monochrome prints
as well as hand painted etchings that strive
to capture the spirit of Seychellois life. His
heavily textured collages, made from glued
pieces of cut and ripped canvases and painted
in acrylic depicting traditional Creole scenes
and sceneries, transport the viewer on an
intense journey into the physical beauty and
evocative mythology of the Seychelles islands.
Camille’s most recent work has incorporated
elements of ‘objets trouve’ into mixed media
work which has seen the artist experimenting
with embossed copper, recycled electrical wire,
metal, relief work and installation art.
Initially self-taught, Camille later developedS