In the 1990s, during a stay in New York, the famous photographic volume Soul by Thierry Le Gouès became part of the artist’s personal collection. Much later, in Italy, those pages underwent a radical process of appropriation and conceptual metamorphosis, torn from their original support to become the iconic foundation of a unique pictorial cycle.
In this series, the French photographer’s image loses its purely documentary function to become living matter and a surface for dialogue. Through the exclusive use of red acrylic paint, the mark intervenes on the sculptural perfection and monochromatic contrasts of the photography to achieve a true anatomical and emotional revelation. The scarlet line does not conceal but highlights muscular tensions, body profiles, internal heartbeats, and symbolic halos, elevating the primordial physicality of the subjects to sacred and timeless icons. This visceral intervention creates a sharp contrast between the glossy surface of the paper and the vibrant opacity of the pigment, giving life to a transformative work where the body becomes a temple and the paint becomes pure spirit.
Text by Luce