The genesis behind the Who’s Afraid of Light series

It all started when I decided to make artworks about synchronicity.

Synchronicity is a concept introduced by Carl Jung to describe meaningful and simultaneous coincidences that cannot be explained by causality. It refers to the conjunction of an internal psychic event (such as a feeling or thought) with an external event, both of which are perceived as being connected by a deeper meaning, without a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

So I thought: let’s paint the sun at dawn. Let’s paint sunsets!

The whole world admires sunsets and we all are reunited when it’s about admiring the sun going down.

My new work indeed wanted to become a reunion anthem.

So I decided to give to this series the name of Who Loves the Sun.

The title is taken from a famous song by the Velvet Underground, which originally deals with a breakup and the sadness that follows, where the singer is so heartbroken that he is unable to appreciate the sun, despite it being a symbol of warmth and life. Despite the dark lyrical theme, the song features a bright and summery musical arrangement, creating an ironic and bittersweet contrast.

This title seemed to me the right mix between my love for rock music and the main subject fo my paintings.

Stéphane Ducret
Untitled (from the Who’s Afraid of Light series)
2026
Oil on wood board
30,5 x 24,8 x 3,3 cm | 12 x 9 ¾ x 1 ⅓ inches

Stéphane Ducret
Untitled (from the Who’s Afraid of Light series)
2026
Oil on wood board
30,5 x 24,8 x 3,4 cm | 12 x 9 ¾ x 1 ⅓ inches

The horizontal lines, which cross the landscape, were intended to represent the passage of time as the sun set or rose on the horizon.

This bolder painting was actually done before the previous two, as I previously wanted to apply a freer and thicker brushstroke to this series. I really loved the combination of effects achieved by the warm colors, which perfectly reflected the pleasant temperatures you can feel under the summer sun, and the vibrant sun and reflections on the water, which I thought I had already perfected here.

By experimenting, destroying some paintings, and correcting others during the development of this series, I finally alternated between fine and blurred brushstrokes until I found the right balance between the two.

In this painting, we can already guess what will happen next, but in a different way: instead of clouds around the sun, I wanted to represent the glare we feel when our eyes are overexposed to the sun. The purple and black area was meant to represent the energy surrounding the sun.

In my later works, I would extend this energy to that of the universe, through powerful and vibrant cumulonimbus clouds.

John Constable
Seascape Study: Boat and Stormy Sky (oil sketch)
20 July 1828
Royal Academy of Arts, London

Stéphane Ducret
Untitled (from the Who’s Afraid of Light series)
2025
Oil on wood board
31,5 x 25,3 x 3,4 cm | 12 ⅓ x 10 x 1 ⅓ inches

Stéphane Ducret
Untitled (from the Who’s Afraid of Light series)
2025
Oil on wood board
50,7 x 40,6 x 3,4 cm | 20 x 16 x 1 ⅓ inches

Although these two paintings were created one after the other, we can already see a significant difference in the evolution of my brushstrokes, which are becoming more refined.

Furthermore, the imperfection of the paint and the underlying layers will be increasingly appreciated in the new paintings, giving them a good blend of masterful technique and the randomness of the drips from the first layer.

This work perfectly reflects my quest for perfection and my suffering when I don't achieve it. Even though I loved the work I was doing and thought it was already quite well painted, I still felt that something was missing. And since I couldn't achieve it, I suffered deeply.

This painting, which took me a long time to complete, perfectly reflects the pain I felt at that time. As someone who thinks a lot, I really feel that these multiple layers of horizontal clouds resemble the structure of a brain (mine?).

Stéphane Ducret
Untitled (from the Who’s Afraid of Light series)
2026
Oil on wood board
30,7 x 24,8 x 3,3 cm | 12 ⅛ x 9 ¾ x 1 ⅓ inches

Stéphane Ducret
Untitled (from the Who’s Afraid of Light series)
2026
Oil on wood board
31,3 x 25,5 x 3,4 cm | 12 ⅓ x 10 x 1 ⅓ inches

As I feel deeply connected to rock and alternative rock, I really wanted to associate some of my works with certain songs. That's why I had previously thought of naming my paintings after songs. For example, this purple and black painting was to be called Wasted, after a song by the alternative rock band Mazzy Star, and the large monochrome painting depicting a yellow sun was to be called Who Loves The Sun, after the famous song by Velvet Underground.

Other works would have been titled Polly, Nevermind (Nirvana), Under Pressure (Queen & David Bowie), Beautiful Tomorrow (Blue Six), Shadowboxer (Fiona Apple), etc.

Finally, after a profound evolution in my work, both technically and conceptually, I found a path through more enigmatic and metaphysical images, elevating clouds to the rank of large cumulonimbus clouds whose structure invites the eye to dive in and be fascinated. I have sometimes associated clouds with an element of “disturbance” that will slowly be replaced by other colorful clouds, bringing depth and inviting meditation in the manner of Rothko.

And the title to this series to be changed from Who Loves The Sun to Who’s Afraid of Light, which better reflects this new perspective.