How Many Hidden Thoughts Can a Loaf of Bread Conceal?
Liu Sichuan
Laurent LU’s works often evoke a sense of both familiarity and strangeness. Ordinary objects, such as bread, bowls, spoons, tables, and chairs, are redefined in his hands, imbued with a weight that life itself seems unable to bear. These objects, rather than simply representing the material needs of the physical world, serve as a medium through which he conveys profound inquiries into the essence of life. This reinterpretation of objects reflects a contemplation of survival, loneliness, and spirituality, while also addressing the predicaments of contemporary society.
When we think of everyday objects like bowls and spoons, they are undeniably indispensable parts of every household and individual’s life. However, the artist transforms them into tools for exploring human nature and existence. Through the reconstruction of symbolic objects, he immerses the viewer in a narrative about survival, reassigning cultural and emotional meanings to these items. The objects seem to drift away from their original functions, becoming profound metaphors for humanity and society.
In Laurent LU’s series of everyday objects, the piece Bread stands out as particularly representative.
Oil on canvas 140 x 140 cm 2021
Oil on canvas 140 x 140 cm 2021
When creating Bread, LU used to paired it with a bowl, a spoon, and/or a spinning top as part of a set, intending to explore the theme of freedom. In his view, true freedom is not something granted by others, but a demand one places on oneself. This means that one must take responsibility for choosing freedom. In this composition, bread symbolizes the “test” of human faith. It is not merely a necessity for survival, but also a challenge to personal choice. If one lives solely for bread, one must face the pain that comes with surviving for it—a pain that is, in essence, a “self-imposed choice”. For this reason, LU’s bread is not just a piece of food; it is a symbol of the human struggle and the choices between freedom and survival.
Over time, Bread has transcended its original intention, gaining new significance and revealing a unique vitality to different viewers. It continues to grow and change, offering viewers more space for reflection. To me, this piece not only encapsulates reflections on materiality and freedom but also probes into the nature of things and existence itself, exploring the multiple dimensions of human survival.
In Bread, the artist uses minimalist visual language to wrap deep philosophical reflections. Bread, a seemingly ordinary item symbolizing basic survival necessities, is endowed with profound symbolic meaning in his hands. It is not merely a symbol of the material world but reveals the hidden inner voices of individuals grappling with the dilemmas of survival. Through this loaf of bread, the viewer is guided into a deeper inquiry into life: As we busy ourselves with chasing survival needs, how is the higher meaning of life manifested?
The artist imbues the work with profound gravity through its minimalist composition. The background is simple and expansive, while the focus is entirely on the center of the painting—a richly textured loaf of bread. The bread is isolated in the frame, as if removed from the complexity of the real world and suspended in a symbolic space. This clean yet weighty composition forces the viewer’s gaze to linger on the bread itself, elevating this everyday object from its functional constraints into a symbolic existence.
Through this bread, LU provokes thought on both material and spiritual levels. It reflects humanity’s struggle to meet the most basic survival needs and highlights the spiritual emptiness that follows endless pursuits in modern society. Much like Heidegger’s interpretation of Van Gogh’s Shoes, which emphasized the connection between labor and the earth and the reliability of tools, LU’s bread, marked with traces of labor, reveals a deep connection between humanity and the world. This opens up a philosophical discussion on existence, survival, labor, and the complexities of human nature.
Bread ceases to be mere food—it becomes an undeniable symbol of the tension between survival and existence.
LU’s depiction of the texture of bread is meticulously handled. His brushstrokes transition softly yet sharply outline the cracks and baking marks on the surface of the bread, contrasting the soft interior with the hard crust, highlighting the traces of its material existence.
The delicate brushwork lends the bread a visual realism, conveying a tactile roughness. The cracks and weathered exterior suggest the marks left by labor and time. This is no ordinary food; it is an object that carries the weight of profound life stories. The cracks and damage are not just physical traces from the baking process, but also seem to etch the bread’s experiences and history, silently narrating the toil of life and the relentless nature of survival. The dense texture, like frozen time, quietly reminds us of the impermanence and brevity of existence.
Vincent Van Gogh Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Oil on canvas 38.1 cm × 45.3 cm 1886
Vincent Van Gogh Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Oil on canvas 38.1 cm × 45.3 cm 1886
Through its “reliability,” the bread reveals the true presence of objects, much like Heidegger’s meditative description of Van Gogh’s weathered, mud-stained peasant shoes: “From the dark opening of the worn insides of the shoes, the toil of the steps of labor presses forth… In the stiff and sturdy heaviness of the worn-out peasant shoes is the accumulated tenacity and sluggishness of the steps in the wintery furrows stretching far and wide… The silent call of the earth is heard in these shoes, revealing the earth’s quiet gift to the ripening grain… imbued with the uncomplaining anxiety for the reliability of bread, and with the silent joy that overcomes poverty; they carry the shiver of birth pangs and the tremors when death draws near…”
In the worn exterior of the peasant shoes, Heidegger saw the relationship between the laborer and the earth, the weight of life, and the earth’s gifts. He conveys that the “thingness” of an object is not just in its form or function, but in its relation to humans and the way it “exists” in the world.
LU’s Bread similarly speaks of its journey in the world—a rough loaf of bread, cracked open like eyes, telling of its silent witnessing of time. It is food, yet bearing the weight of humanity’s connection to the world through labor. The cracks and rough texture on the surface of the bread record the struggles and fragility of the individual under the pressure of survival in modern society, as well as the price humanity pays in its pursuit of existence.
Bread, as the most basic symbol of food, embodies the fundamental needs of human survival. However, much like the profound metaphor behind the minimalistic expression of the artwork, the artist refines this material symbol and isolates it at the center of the composition. Its loneliness and singularity continuously issue a silent question to the viewer.
Heidegger once pointed out that the essence of a tool lies in its reliability, which sustains the stability and dependence of human daily life. In Laurent LU’s Bread, however, this reliability takes on a more complex meaning. Bread is no longer merely food; it is elevated to a symbol representing survival, existence, and layered spiritual significance. This symbolic transformation raises bread from an ordinary item to a profound metaphor for existence, inviting reflection on our dependence on and interpretation of the material world. The texture and weight of the bread carry a primordial power, and through his minimalistic visual expression, he presents this power in a particularly calm and profound manner.
On an artistic level, Laurent LU’s Bread demonstrates a fusion of simplicity and strength. He skillfully integrates the symbolic meanings of the material and the spiritual in his work, using concise yet profound expression to explore the complex issues of human existence, survival, labor, and spirituality. As Heidegger once said, a work of art is the unconcealment of the Being of beings. Through this humble loaf of bread, he guides us to re-examine the essence of objects, sparking a reevaluation of the materiality and existence within our daily lives.
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