La souche (The Stump)

La souche (The Stump) proposes a return to what shapes us at the deepest level. At the centre of the composition, a dense form evokes a tree stump, its roots, its branching structures, and the memory held within its substance. Around it, the forms dissolve into a brighter space, as though every outward movement must first draw strength from this inner core.

This concentration toward the centre, unusual within the body of work, becomes essential to its meaning. It invites us to return to our origins, recognize our foundations, and remain true to them before opening ourselves to the world. The stump is therefore not presented as the remnant of a vanished tree, but as a place of grounding where something remains alive and capable of transformation.

Created in 2014, in the same creative period as L’Œuvre de Dieu, L’Œuvre de Dieu II and La souche de mon existence, the painting shares their earthy palette, mineral textures, and veiled light. Its presence shifts with the lighting: at times soft and understated, at others deeper and more intense, gradually revealing its textures, transparencies, and darker passages.