Briser = to break : 1. to separate into pieces under ablow or strain (to crack, to crush) - 2. to fracture abone or a member - 3. to put an end to an action or a feeling, or to jeopardize it seriously - 4. to cause to yield, to overcome somebody or something (to conquer, to submit) - 5. to break a person's heart : to overwelm a person with sorrow.

Coudre = to sew : 1. to attach with a series of stitches - 2. to fasten together different pieces of fabric with a needle and thread - 3. to join the edges of a wound or incision by stitching (to suture).

Couper = to cut : 1. to divide with a sharp-edged instrument - 2. to prevent from continuing (to interrupt, to separate) - 3. to remove parts of a whole (to shorten, to reduce, to amputate) - 4. to make a notch, to wound (to incise) - 5. to put a person in isolation - 6. to dilute wine by adding water (to adulterate) .

Creuser = to dig: 1. to remove matter in order to get to the core (to bore) - 2. to move toward the center - 3. to unveil the core, to reveal the inside - 4. to go for the essential and the hidden aspects of things (to go deeply into) - 5. French expression only : to arouse a craving for.

Percer = to pierce: 1. to drill a hole in a partition in order to connect its two sides (to bore) - 2. to make an opening in a container or an obstacle (to puncture) - 3. French expression only : to become famous (to succed).

Relier = to connect: 1. to create a relationship between two elements (to join, to tie together) - 2. to establish logical or emotional relationships between ideas or people (to link) - 3.French expression only : to assemble and sew the pages of a book in chronological order (to bind) .

Definitions of the actions used on stone for the booklet of the exhibition " Stone Works " at the museum of Tahiti and its islands - 1996

What is fundamental in the approach of Jean Paul Forest is being, right from the start, an agent of destruction and disorder, in the same vein as the sea, the wind, the river and time, but rather in a precise almost scientific manner. One can easily imagine silent dialogues : after listening and analysing no doubt there follows brutal action, not to put order where there is no form, but to create an extreme crisis, a calculated chaos. And, as if the artist was remorseful for the " suffering " caused, to reunify with care and affection. The repair that establishes a new integrity remains visible and beautiful, flaunting itself like a tattoo, an indelible mark that one can hope was the final accident. The scar seals his mystery inside the rock, hiding with modesty and respect to illustrate finally and masterly fashion the unique, individual and almost magical character of the supposed most banal matter in the world : stones.
Jean Paul Forest shows us that that resemble us. Not without humour and complete harmony, he gives us a sense of universal balance that, although abstract, is closer in tits approach to primitive art than to western art where man has often the impudence to believe he is at the center of the universe. Going beyond formal research, his work has a symbolic and emotional impact that lets us see our certain links with our silent origins.

Gilbert Mercier, art-directeur, Los Angeles - for the exhibition " Stone Works " at the Museum of Tahiti and its Islands - 1996