Provençal Echoes: My Light of the Olive Trees
This mosaic was born in an unexpected context, during long months spent within the walls of a hospital, far from the nature and the bright light that nourish my soul. It was in this confined space that Vincent van Gogh’s Olive Trees of Arles became a source of inner escape, an open window onto the beauty and vitality of the outside world.
This artwork is a personal and vibrant interpretation of this iconic work, a silent cry of my ardent desire to rediscover the freedom of wide open spaces and the intense colors of the south of France, which I had so loved during my rejuvenating stays in Aix-en-Provence.
Each tessera placed was an act of patience and hope, a way to rebuild, fragment by fragment, the landscape that I missed so much. The deep and undulating blues of the sky evoke the vastness and strength of nature, a striking contrast with the immobility of my daily life back then. The silvery greens of the olive trees, with their twisted and resilient forms, became a symbol of my own inner strength and my determination to rediscover a full and colorful life.
This artwork carries within it the nostalgia for the Provençal light, the memory of sun-drenched weekends, but it is also a hopeful projection towards my future. It anticipates with joy my next stage of life, the one where I will finally be able to immerse myself again in the beauty of nature, under the bright sky of the south of Spain, after this trying period. Each shade of color is a promise of healing and renewal, one more step towards rediscovered freedom and the full enjoyment of the wonders of the world.
By contemplating this mosaic, I hope to share a little of this regained light, this journey from shadow to brilliance, and to inspire those who are going through difficult times to always hold onto the hope of a return to beauty and to life. Van Gogh’s Olive Trees of Arles were my visual and spiritual refuge during my convalescence.
This mosaic interpretation is my testimony to the power of art as a source of escape and hope, and a celebration of nature whose beauty and strength carried me towards healing and towards a sunny future.