Not having the biography of the artist, can we write the biography of an anonymous work? Knowing that a political refugee from Central America sold this sculpture to a second-hand dealer who kept it in the basement of his cottage in the middle of the woods tells us nothing more about the two faces, that of the soldier preparing to kill and that of his prisoner in chains at whom he aims his weapon. Each of them carries an expression of distraction and distress, both caught up in something that is beyond them and of which they are the victims. This bond is reinforced by the fact that they are sculpted in one sole tree trunk, a technical feat that was perhaps deliberate. The fact the work was created almost in life-size brings us closer to the tragedy of the scene.
Artiste anonyme du Salvador – taillé dans un tronc d’arbre – 158/37/37
