— FRESCOES —

Le Bain bénit (The Blessed Bath)

¬ All religions in the same bath

4 x 2 m | 2008
Printed in 5 copies on 5 mm Dibond (direct to plate)

Let us imagine a world where all of humanity's religions meet, not to confront each other, but to find themselves in a peaceful place, a sacred public bath. Each, with their beliefs and traditions, would find a common space, a bath of humanity where the sole objective would be the pleasure of being together, in the same water. In this place, the divine would be found in sharing and harmony. Rituals, prayers, and songs would be gestures of unity, not division. Every voice, every word, every gesture would carry the beauty of human diversity. It would be a world where differences would blend into a common spirituality, a world of peace and respect. This is true harmony, that of unity in diversity. This would be peace on Earth. We can dream.

INTRODUCTION ‘The frescoes’ | JEAN-MARIE WYNANTS | Journalist | 2021 — The mural, for Lucas Racasse, is the magnum opus, the firework finale, the moment when all constraints blow apart. It’s where the artist lets loose, conjuring up encounters as improbable as they are exhilarating, crafting crowds made up entirely of familiar faces that viewers can spend hours identifying, one by one. While murals have often served to glorify the feats of our great men, the way Racasse seizes the genre throws out the rulebook entirely. Borrowing the faces of political, media, scientific, athletic, religious, philosophical, and musical figures, he assembles impossible gatherings that make us dream, hallucinate, laugh—or wince. In Wonderland, the planet’s 100 richest personalities roar with laughter as they’re hurled along runaway roller coasters shaped like golden calves, while the apocalypse rages all around. In Inferno, history’s most notorious murderers cheer wildly at a boxing match between Cain and Abel, refereed by none other than Adolf Hitler. The Blessed Bath takes dozens of gods, saints, preachers, and other religious icons on a dip in paradisiacal waters. And he pushes even further in Belgica Sexicæ Unita, taking the phrase “Belgian mess” quite literally by staging a gigantic orgy with all our political figures. Iconoclast, Racasse? No doubt about it. And he goes to great lengths to find, on each face, the perfect expression to match the role he assigns. But this contemporary Michelangelo doesn’t just revel in portraying the dark follies of the world. Sometimes he leaves Dante’s Inferno behind and leads us into Paradise. That’s how we get a spectacular gathering of hundreds of artists in a Parliamento we’d love to attend. Or a massive demonstration of global celebrities rallying behind the slogan “Free the Images.” Not to mention Midnight in Belgium, where all the country’s iconic figures gather around a fry stand in front of the Royal Palace. “Formidable!” laughs Stromae. “Surreal!” chuckles Magritte at the sight of a dancing fry and a Manneken Pis perched atop the Yellow Mark. And you can bet that in just a heartbeat, they’ll all be howling in chorus with Arno: “Damn, damn, it’s bloody great!” Excerpt from the book Every Day Is Picture Day, published in 2022.

CASTING ■ Cerbère ■ Bouddha ■ Abbé Pierre ■ Hadès / Pluton ■ Aïcha ■ Hafssa ■ Soda ■ Marie d’Ethiopie ■ Safiya ■ Khadijeh ■ Zarathoustra ■ Omhabiba ■ Amma ■ Saint Pierre ■ Muses ■ Thot ■ Uranie ■ Cupidon ■ Marie Madeleine ■ Saint François d’Assise ■ Harpocrate ■ Saint Rita de Cassia ■ Anubis ■ Saint Marcelin ■ He Xiangu ■ Claire d’Assise ■ Saint Jérôme Émilien ■ Marie-Thérèse de Calcutta ■ Gandhi ■ SaintSébastien ■ M ■ Vénus / Aphrodite ■ Juda ■ Jésus ■ Vierge Marie ■ Abraham Ben Samuel Aboulafia ■ Putto ■ Héra / Junon ■ Cupidon / Eros ■ Shiva ■ Saint Joseph ■ Ras Tafari ■ Saint Grégoire de Palamas ■ Zeus / Jupiter ■ Hathor ■ Sainte Cécile ■ Terpsichore ■ Bastet ■ Bacchus / Dionysos ■ Saint Dominique ■ Fukurokuju ■ Datta ■ Purusha ■ Radha ■ Saint Soufi ■ Sainte Thérèse ■ Bhaktisiddhanta ■ Amos ■ Kukai ■ Moïse ■ Quadjet ■ Sainte Sara ■ Roi David ■ Hercule / Héraclès ■ Isis ■ Tsukiyomi ■ Ramaz Sita Hanum ■ Lemanjá ■ Dhanvantri ■ Fatima ■ Saint Jean Baptiste ■ Saint Paul ■ Gayatri ■ Amon ■ Erzulie / Ezili ■ Charles Taze Russel ■ Jean Calvin ■ Albert Schweitzer ■ Anuket ■ O Kuni Nushi ■ Sirène ■ Ange de la Mort ■ Sainte Philomène ■ Douamoutef ■ Abraham et Sara ■ Sainte Margareth ■ Kalif Abou ■ Puttis ■ Aïsha (épouse du Kalif Abou) ■ Sainte Rita ■ Sainte Lucie ■ Sainte Lucille ■ Boulgakov ■ Sainte Sita ■ Atlas ■ Sainte Elisabeth ■ Sainte Libye ■ Uranus ■ Metzil ■ Ange Gabriel ■ Ève ■ Médusa ■ Swami Vive Kananda ■ Apollon ■ Guan-Yin ■ Padre Pio ■ Artémis / Diane ■ Neptune / Poséidon ■ Saint André ■ Susanoo no Mikoto ■ Lei Gong ■ Sainte Barbara ■ Vulcan / Hephætus ■ Rabia Al Adawiya ■ Isaïe ■ Sainte Ruth ■ Saint Christophe ■ Noé ■ Izanami et Izanagi ■ Xiwangu / Ying-Yang ■ Sainte Agathe ■ Berdiaev ■ Kalif Ali ■ Lan Caihe ■ Isabelle Eberhardt ■ Tche Niu ■ Centaure ■ Mãe de Santo ■ Lu Longbin ■ Arthéna / Minerve ■ Ulrich Zwingli ■ Grégoire LeGrand ■ Arès / Mars ■ Guan Di / Kuan-Ti ■ Arcange Saint Michel ■ Bishamon ■ Sainte Inês ■ Innocent X ■ Saint Ambroise ■ Jean 24 ■ Agni ■ Sphinx ■ Mâat ■ Hermès / Mercure ■ Benten / Benzaiten ■ Confucius ■ Tara ■ Patriarche de Moscou ■ Neith ■ Sobek ■ John Smith ■ Sainte Mélanie ■ Inti ■ Tane ■ Saint Anne ■ John Wesley ■ Zhong Li Quan ■ Murugan ■ Hotei ■ Hestia ■ Janus ■ Sainte Barbe ■ Saint Augustin ■ Saint Youssef ■ Erato et Euterpe ■ Satan ■ Léon X ■ Jeanne d’Arc ■ Nuwa ■ Sainte Hélène ■ Tsaddiquim ■ Caen et Abel ■ Hataalii ■ Amaterasu ■ Vache Sacrée Aghanya ■ Elie ■ Sarawati ■ Déméter ■ Ganesh ■ Ebisu ■ Sainte Antoine ■ Nout ■ Gaia ■ Sainte Germaine Coussin ■ Osiris ■ Nayéé Neezgháni ■ Hathas ■ Ramaz Krishna ■ Apis ■ Saint Benoît ■ Sainte Géraldine ■ Métraton ■ Inari