Galerie Claude Lemand

BAYA. Algerian icon of Modernity - The Garden of Eden.

Claude Lemand :

An oasis in the desert, BAYA’s Garden of Eden is sur­rounded by moun­tains and sun-drenched dunes, with one source and four rivers, sym­bolic trees of Algeria - the olive and the date palm - and a lush, peaceful land­scape teeming with birds and fish of every color, in pairs, fam­i­lies, or alone. The birds sing, the fish dance. Oasis or island, the Garden of Eden reflects the colors of Algeria: the blue of the Mediterranean, the red of its soil, the green of its veg­e­ta­tion, the gold of its dunes.

Pain, sad­ness, and death are absent from the Garden of Eden, which has no arti­fi­cial fence, unlike the dom­i­nant model of the Arab-Andalusian garden. Let us not forget that at Baya we are in Paradise. No nightscapes, nei­ther in the coun­tryside, nor in the city, nor even under the starry desert sky. The light of per­petual day gives full bril­liance to the colors and beauty of his world, illu­mi­nated by "a blessed tree: an olive tree nei­ther of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light." (Quran, Surah An-Nur - The Light)