Cypress story – Rémy Xavier

Rémy XAVIER, also known as Mr LiGht, is a contemporary French artist who grew up in the world of graffiti and underground art. For some time now, his works have focused, with humour and poetry, on the interaction between humans and nature. He developed this theme following many years spent in various French cities and in Brussels, where he collaborated with art galleries and institutions. He now lives in his home village in the south of France, works for a museum and continues to organise exhibitions in art spaces.

The theme of the exhibition at the Ahoj Nazdar Čau gallery is the mystery of nature and the question of why it continues to fascinate artists in a society where nature is taking a back seat in important political debates.

The ‘Cypress Story’ series came about gradually. Every day I would walk past this cypress tree, and something inside me told me to paint it. And so I did. Some time later, during my exhibition, a man from my village – who knows my family and the local area well – told me that he recognised this cypress and was certain that one of my ancestors had planted it over two hundred years ago. I share the same first name as that ancestor… Life is a cycle, and the world revolves around it.

The other paintings capture views from where I live, from my territory, from my surroundings. This is my natural world, and every day it inspires my thoughts and my art; that is precisely what I missed in the big cities.

The depiction of nature in display cases shows how humans seek to organise and confine it, whilst, on the other hand, nature is disappearing due to human needs. I build a bridge between nature and graffiti, because neither is fully understood for what it truly is: a symbol of freedom and a realm of love. It is an honour to organise this exhibition right here at the Ahoj Nazdar Čau gallery and to show people in the Czech Republic that we are united by the same political issues concerning memory, nature and humanity. I am also very pleased to have met up again with Petra, the gallery’s curator and my long-time friend.