Olivier Bertrand statement The creation of Touching Skies was a unique opportunity to collaborate with an artist and friend, Mark Dedrie, on a joint piece. I have enormous respect for Mark's work, which is characterized by softness and clean lines — quite the opposite of mine, which tends to be more raw and expressive. Despite our contrasting styles, we were both convinced that our artistic worlds could come together. After all, we share the same desire to capture movement and breathe life into our sculptures.Driven by this shared vision and our mutual fascination with birds of prey, we set out to create this sculpture of two peregrine falcons — an idea that Mark had been nurturing for years. Mark Dedrie StatementThe title of this artwork did not come about by chance. Eagle is one of my favourite songs by the Swedish pop group ABBA. In consultation with my colleague Olivier, we chose this title from a broader list because it evokes the right tension and freedom for us.The peregrine falcon itself is one of nature's most impressive hunters. With diving speeds of over 300 kilometres per hour, it embodies pure focus, precision and power. As sculptors, we feel a kinship with that moment of concentrated movement: the ability to capture something fleeting and bring it back to life in form and material.Because I mainly create birds, I notice how my work evokes a growing awareness among viewers and collectors of what is happening in nature. The sculptures do not function as illustrations, but as silent witnesses that invite attention and care.This particular work of art arose from a special challenge between two sculptors, each with a distinct and recognisable style: my own sleek, stylised bronze sculptures and the impressionistic-expressive cardboard work of French sculptor Olivier Bertrand. The biggest challenge was to connect these two worlds in an almost invisible way, without either losing its individuality. The result is a sculpture in which two materials touch and then let go of each other. It is also a world first: two sculptors creating a single sculpture together, each remaining true to their own signature style.For me, creating feels like a life energy. It is something that keeps flowing as long as the body allows it. My artistic path began in a bronze foundry, where I made sculptures for other artists. Gradually, my own work grew out of this, as a self-taught artist, fuelled by observation, discipline and a deep love for the craft.What I particularly want the viewer to experience in this work is how contrasting forms and materials can come together to form a harmonious whole. That tension opens up a dialogue and invites you to look and feel further, beyond words and fixed meanings. For me, this is not an end point, but the beginning of a story that can continue to grow.My life as an artist is characterised by silence. I do not live in the rush of the day. While the world fills with agendas and screens, I choose the detour and the slow gaze. A heron by the water's edge can hold my attention longer than any meeting. There are no clocks in my studio, only traces of time: plasticine and modelling wax under my fingernails, bronze powder in the air, feathers on the workbench. Every image begins with looking. Sometimes for days, sometimes for years. Not at a photograph, but at a posture, a movement, a feeling that cannot be named.An animal never lies. It is exactly what it is. And that is precisely why I do not want to capture the exterior, but the soul. In this way, my artistry has become a form of listening: to material, to silence, to that one moment when everything comes together. When the sculpture is finally there – heavy with bronze, light in spirit – I know that this is what had to be made. Not to possess, but to share.My working process can best be described as chaotically organised. In addition to my artistry, as a human being I try to approach my environment, others and nature with respect and love, and to give space to those values between my passions.My childhood was lonely and far removed from the art world I later entered. Yet I have learned that you cannot change the past, but you can make the best of today. Carpe diem.