Abstracts
Keywords:
- set design,
- Atikamekw,
- Ondinnok,
- arts,
- theatre
I went to the Education Expo, and that’s where I saw the model and period costume from the National Theatre School. It was when I saw the booth, the technical plans, and the images of performances that I truly became aware of the existence of this profession and the schools that teach it. It’s as if when you’re an audience member, you don’t necessarily realize all the work behind the performance. All the credit generally goes to the actors and the director, but there are artists, artisans who work to make all of this possible. At the end of my training, le Petit Théâtre du Nord offered me my first opportunity to work on a set design. I was in the midst of our year-end production, preparing for a trip to participate in the Prague Quadrennial in Set Design with my cohort. So, it was an addition to my already busy schedule, but that’s how the profession is: managing multiple projects and contracts simultaneously. This show, La grande sortie (2011) by Mélanie Maynard and Jonathan Racine, was later restaged at Théâtre du Rideau Vert in 2014 and toured across Québec. I was fortunate: it kick-started my career. But in 2008, there was the Commission, and at the same time, my brother took his own life. It was a difficult year. I did a lot of introspection related to myself, my family, who I was, where I was going. What had happened in the minds of my brother, my cousins, my uncles, who also took their own lives? The TRC allowed me to heal from something I didn’t even know I was carrying. I understood that there were people who were suffering even more than me, who had experienced unimaginable things. I used this anger I had towards some family members who had done difficult or hurtful things (addictions to alcohol, drugs, domestic violence, physical and mental abuse), and I started painting large canvases inspired by my culture. I did this separately, in my studio, at home. Inevitably, the art I was developing at home had an impact on what I was learning at school. This being said, it happened unconsciously: I subtly brought what I carried into my work. It showed in some things, but my teachers didn’t tell me to draw from my culture, that it was rich. I think they knew a little about what was happening with my brother. I had talked to them about the Commission and the fact that many people didn’t understand the residential schools, but like many, my teachers weren’t really aware, and I didn’t always want to talk about it. I really regained my pride after leaving school. The TRC had effects. I evolved, my family did, too, people opened up. It was good for many people. I immersed myself more in my culture after leaving school. It’s in the art itself that I let everything out with the Kinokewin series. This series of paintings is quite dark. I needed to get it all out. I had initially made the paintings for myself, but a friend who is a gallery owner saw them and strongly encouraged me to exhibit them. He said, “They need to be seen!” I did the exhibition in a bar. I wasn’t doing it for money or to become known. I was happy to share with friends and strangers. But I was afraid afterward; I didn’t necessarily want to enter the big leagues. I have a friend who is well-known, and he didn’t paint the same way anymore because of the pressure he experienced. And then, I wanted …