The title Trampant refers to the central figure in the composition. In the middle ground of the painting, a man could be seen sitting upright, with legs spread and arms hanging down at his sides. Sadler’s figures often possessed a ghostly aura, as their bodies were defined only by bold contour lines. In many of his works, bodies and backgrounds appeared to merge. In this particular painting, a trace of energy was visible in the man's torso, seemingly originating from the root area, the sacral chakra, or the solar plexus. This internal power was responsible for the upright and slightly forward-leaning posture of the figure, in contrast to another figure lying powerless on the ground. The central figure appeared to act as a vessel for a radiant red projection emitting from his open mouth, creating a palpable tension in his neck.

This red area of color may be interpreted as a visual expression of conversations that Mark Sadler had with this man on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris during the 1990s. What this red utterance might sound like is left open to the viewer's imagination. For Sadler, musical, textual, and visual forms of expression were closely connected. His song titled Rue de Rivoli is directly related to the painting. The chorus reads:
On the Rue de Rivoli, contemplating mystery, you're not afraid of the cold, cold night. On the Rue de Rivoli sitting outside history, I gotta get myself on home now this cold is starting to bite.

The term Trampant is a neologism. While "tramp" refers to a homeless person, the suffix -ant does not define a fixed identity but rather a state of being or a way of life. Through this, Sadler emphasized that his work was not about labeling a person, but about understanding lived reality as an active condition.

The concept of chakras played a significant role in the painting. The word chakra comes from Sanskrit and means "wheel". In various Eastern spiritual traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, chakras are considered key energy centers in the human body that influence physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. The earliest written mentions of chakras can be found in ancient texts like the Vedas, especially the Upanishads. In Trampant, Sadler visualized three of these energy centers through color: the root chakra in red as the center of security and grounding, the sacral chakra in orange as the seat of creativity and sensuality, and the solar plexus in yellow as the source of self-worth and ego.

The scenes depicted in the painting reflected the realities of urban life. In metropolises like Paris, the material conditions of the free market confront romantic ideals. The figures in Sadler’s painting used the warm air rising from subway vents to stay warm as they experienced houselessness. A metal grate covering a shop entrance served as their sleeping area. In Sadler’s artistic vision, this grate took on the appearance of a stained glass window, evoking the Sainte-Chapelle church, which is located near Rue de Rivoli on the Île de la Cité.

The reclining figure was portrayed by Sadler in the manner of a Sadhu, a figure he had encountered in India. Sadhus are holy men in Hinduism who renounce worldly life, view material possessions as an illusion, and rely on alms from passersby. Through this representation, Sadler's work wove together exposure, autonomy, poverty, fear, joy, and memory into a complex tapestry of human existence.

Warm regards,
Your Haus Kunst Mitte Team