Ashes on paper, 150 × 110 cm, 2024.

This drawing was created by rubbing ashes from the 2022 mega-fire in the Monts d’Arrée onto paper. It depicts a real image that unfolded in the territory: the Saint-Michel Chapel, located on one of the hills. From its summit, it overlooks the devastated landscape. During the fires, the first priority was to protect this modest chapel, a symbol of faith and heritage, an icon of the place. To this end, a firebreak was created around it, while the village had to be evacuated. The resulting landscape shows the chapel and a small green area surrounding it, rising above vast blackened hectares. This image deeply struck me when I witnessed it firsthand. I found it rich in symbolism, particularly in its inevitable parallel with the biblical scene known as “the end of times,” in which the Archangel Michael, warrior and protector of the heavens, defeats the dragon (the demon) in the battle of the angels, thus bringing the apocalyptic era to an end.