The main entrance to the Bois du Grand Bon Dieu was named ‘Drève des Artistes’ at the start of the seventies by Yvon Dubois, a member of the Artistes de Thudinie group. The commemorative sculpted panel is still there. What has been a holiday destination for many locals is now under threat. In 2018, fourteen of the diseased hundred-year-old beech trees will have to be felled. For Fluide, Mario Ferretti has taken two of these remarkable trees and given them a new lease of life. He kept the trunk and branches of the trees and then cut them, hollowed them out and sculpted them. Afterwards, he reassembled them with the help of metallic rings and put them back in their original location. It is worth mentioning that beech trees symbolise wisdom and patience. They are exclusive, imperious, dominating trees. They evoke ancient customs and compete with oaks for the title of rulers of the forest. After being transformed by Ferretti, the dead trees became the skeleton for two new trees. As such, his work explores the former and transformed being. His monumental sculptures are at first glance frightening in their inertia, placed on the ground like tortured bodies, but on closer examination they seem to come back to life in these legendary cathedral-like woods. Using his hands, and contrary to first impressions, the sculptor has created a new hybrid that is full of life.

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