I chose to represent Nicolas Barré who entrusts you with the Child who is going out into the world and I wanted a realistic statue, an expression of an incarnated Faith.
The child has a happy and trusting face, his feet are no longer bare. His garment has a sideways movement, as if there was a wind, a breath that passes. Between security and the search for balance, he will let go of the hand he is holding.
The face of Nicolas Barré, attentive and peaceful, I sculpted on the day of Pentecost, while
listening to a radio broadcast of the mass. In the homily, the priest spoke of the gift of tongues: "The one who truly speaks in tongues is the one who lets the Spirit of God speak in him".
We sculptors do not speak in tongues, but with what comes out of our hands. God can speak to the souls of those who see our work, and this is a form of the gift of tongues.
When I sculpt, I ask that God may speak through my work, without my even noticing it, as this text by Lanza del Vasto says:
"Lord, fill the gaps in my work yourself. In all the work of my hands,
leave a grace from You to speak to others,
and an imperfection from me to speak to myself...
And remind me that the work of my hands belongs to You."
Jean Cériez, sculptor
September 2007