Pascal Oudet An Ode to Trees and Their Survival

Using the trunk of a 70-year-old oak tree, Pascal Oudet meticulously carved away the wood until he achieved a diaphanous sculpture of astonishing lightness, weighing a mere 300 grams. To achieve this result, he first shaped the trunk through woodturning into the sculpture’s exterior form of two disks connected by a hollowed central section. He then allowed the wood to naturally dry, letting nature determine its final form. The critical final step in achieving this unique result involved sanding away the softest spring growth rings, while preserving the denser structure of the summer wood. When illuminated, an organic lacework emerges, composed of alternating summer rings and the distinctive oak grain that binds them.

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For Pascal Oudet, elevating and honoring the life of a tree is both an artistic and ecological endeavor. He seeks to expose the tree's stages of life and growth, its life's imperfections, including the impact of four consecutive years of exceptional drought that altered its development. Through delicate works like "Let the Sun In", Pascal Oudet hints at the silent vulnerability of trees and, by extension, the ecosystems on which our own survival depends.

"With this work, Pascal Oudet demonstrates the necessity of continuously learning to sense what is about to happen, utilizing the combined knowledge of the brain and of the hand to execute the right gesture at the right moment. It is the human touch that makes all the difference."