Alain Mailland was born on the Ivory Coast and moved with his family back to France when he was five years old. Although he worked as a mason and carpenter in building construction, it was not until he was twenty-eight that he took his first course in woodturning. Mailland developed his own distinctive style and technique, particularly in hollowing. He developed special tools to turn wood flowers, and then used this technique to turn and carve pieces like sea or natural creatures. He has quickly gained a reputation for his very distinctive work and has been exhibiting and demonstrating internationally.

Alain Mailland works and sculpts since 20 years rare and precious woods from the Midi of France to create fine sculptures of vegetal and marine appearances. His work is based on the beauty and characteristics of each wood. He mainly uses roots and fresh burrs from his region for the preciousness of its wood with extraordinary patterns and colours: the pistachio tree, the arbutus, the heather, etc. To achieve this delicate pieces, he needs an extremely fine wood.

He thinks that a connexion exists between all the species on earth. One can find animal or mineral forms in the roots and vegetation or conversely. Reigns are crossing, borders are blurred. We, humans, are linked to all creatures of the world. That is what he feels when he creates his pieces, always living creatures. He sculpts growing forms like flowers or plants. Thanks to his technique, he loves to reproduce all the circular structures from the universe, from the atoms to the galaxy. The birth of these objects is the incarnation of his dreams.