“They’ve been obsessing me for years. I searched and found them in Benares, on the banks of the river Gange (India). They arrive here to get rid of everything and to wait for death. This existence can last for years, sometimes decades, almost a life. Opposite to mine, well organised and filled as a human life can be, to try in vain to push the limits of its end”. – Denis Rouvre. (Photo by Denis Rouvre)

I would like to tell you why many artists, who like me, have painted portraits and landscapes in oils on canvas, worked with acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink drawings, have turned to the art of gourd carving.

A woman with “I'm Charlie” written on her hand takes part in a Hundreds of thousands of French citizens solidarity march (Marche Republicaine) in the streets of Paris January 11, 2015. French citizens will be joined by dozens of foreign leaders, among them Arab and Muslim representatives, in a march on Sunday in an unprecedented tribute to this week's victims following the shootings by gunmen at the offices of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the killing of a police woman in Montrouge, and the hostage taking at a kosher supermarket at the Porte de Vincennes. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Ivorian police officers of the Anti-Riot Brigade (BAE) contain the crowd during a performance by French rapper Okou Armand Gnakouri known as Kaaris during the Festival of Urban Music of Anoumabo (Femua) in Abidjan on April 28, 2019. The performance of French-Ivorian rapper Kaaris at the Festival of Urban Music of Anoumabo (Femua) in Abidjan escalated into violence after a crowd surge, causing some minor injuries, according to an AFP journalist at the concert. (Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP Photo)

English actress Lily James attends the “What's Love Got To Do With It?” UK Premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on February 13, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Zak Hussein/Splash News and Pictures)

American models, media personalitys and socialite Hailey Bieber (R) and Kendall Jenner on Set of What's in My Kitchen? in the second decade of April 2023. (Photo byTori Time/OBB Media)

Turks stand in a silent protest in Kugulu Park in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. After weeks of sometimes-violent confrontation with police, Turkish protesters have found a new form of resistance: standing still and silent. The banner with an image of Turkey's founder Kemal Ataturk reads: “Which crazy person thinks they can put me in chains”. (Photo by Burhan Ozbilic/AP Photoi)