There are some rare exhibitions that can be summed up by a single work, for its radiant, masterful, and commanding presence leaves no room for anything else. Even more rarely, this work has been specifically conceived, in its unity, to inhabit a unique space with which it breathes organically.
This is "Le Souffle", which Lydie Arickx will present at Saint-Eustache Church, beginning July 10.
Suspended seven meters above the central span of the nave, the sculpture engages with the striking verticality of the Gothic building and its shifting light, highlighting the theatrical dimension of the sacred space and its clear symbolism of elevation. *Le Souffle* takes the form of a red, tree-like structure, cut from aluminum with lace-like precision, resting on a base of intertwined figures that appear to support it. Monumental yet light, the work hovers in the air like a breath, subtly resonating with the architecture and spirit of the place.
In its form, "Le Souffle" evokes both the coral of the ocean depths and the Tree of Life, the leaf and the heart, thus uniting the depth of the oceans with the vastness of the sky. The sculpture unfolds like an immense suspended stained-glass panel, playing with light and shadow throughout the day, in the grand tradition of Gothic stained-glass windows. Located at the center of the building, it may also serve as a subtle allusion to the story of the church’s patron saint, whose conversion was sparked by the appearance of a stag adorned with a crucifix while he was hunting in the forest. The apparition here is certainly no longer that of a deer, but of a living figure that also serves as a revelation—that of our ambiguous relationship with nature. "Le Souffle" indeed resembles coral, a symbol of beauty but also of the fragility of endangered marine ecosystems. According to this interpretation, it embodies a nature in peril, undermined and damaged by human activity. Suspended in the church, this sculpture manifests both the dangers associated with the Anthropocene and the dignity of life—the resilience of the vital breath that permeates all of creation. Within a building certified as a “green church,” this dimension serves as a manifesto, underscored by the material used. Aluminum is indeed known for its lightness and strength, but it also has a key environmental benefit: it is one of the few materials that is fully recyclable, meaning that nearly 75% of the aluminum produced since 1880 is still in use today. Recycling aluminum requires only 5% of the energy needed for its initial production, making it a symbol of sustainable development. Thus, beyond its technical function, it extends the meaning of the work: a living material, in perpetual rebirth, embedded in the long term.
- Yannick Mercoyrol
Lydie Arickx, Le Souffle
Église Saint-Eustache, Paris
10 of July - 29 of September 2026
Curation: Yannick Mercoyrol
A project supported by the Loo&Lou Foundation for Contemporary Art, under the auspices of the Luxembourg Foundation
EN PARALLÈLE
Lydie Arickx - exhibition
Loo & Lou Gallery, Paris
11 to 30 of July - 1st to 11 of September 2026
