Category: Research

Going On/ Beyond

The “beyond” is neither a new horizon, nor a leaving behind of the past… Beginnings and endings may be the sustaining myths of the middle years; but in the fin de siècle, we find ourselves in the moment of transit where space and time cross to produce complex figures of difference and identity, past and present, inside and outside, inclusion and exclusion. For there is a sense of disorientation, a disturbance of direction, in the ‘beyond’: an exploratory, restless movement caught so well in the French rendition o fthe words au-delà- hear and there, on all sides, fort/da, hither and thither, back and forth.

Location of Culture, Homi K. Bhabha

Photo Credit: Catherine Buteau, Manoir Alexandra, November 2011

Échantillons architecturaux | Architectural Samples

While strengthening my concept with an architectural intervention, I am gathering architectural elements found in Jacmel, Haiti, and the Caribbean, for inspiration. Below are some of my drawings either depicting those elements as they are, or transforming them for personal use.

I used architecture literally as a reference, using the attic, the boiler room, and the stairwell to make associations between certain binary divisions such as higher and lower and heaven and hell. The stairwell became a liminal space, a pathway between the upper and lower areas, each of which was annotated with plaques referring to blackness and whiteness.

Artist René Green cited in Location of Culture by Homi K. Bhabha

 

Yaquimo shadows

Inspiration to a Performance Space

The picture above was taken at Yaquimo Beach (down Grande Rue), during a Salsa dance session.  The venue is a two-story tall  “Choukoun”, traditional circular Haitian gathering space with a thatched-roof and no walls. The first floor of Yaquimo is a restaurant. The dance lessons took place on the top floor.

As the light bounced back from the neighbors’ wall which showcased a colorful mural, it animated the space… It was great to see the shadows dancing together. There was no city electricity; the only light came from small light-bulbs powered by a generator. There was also no music but the shadows followed a rhythm with the energetic teachers’ instructions. All could make out the song, in their head, with their companion.

Lights Camera Action

This reminds me of an observation one architect made about her stay in Jacmel while working for the construction of a school there. She thought the city looked like the backdrop to a James Bond movie… exotic, tranquil (until something happens), rich, scenic…. It truly does.

While one cares about exhibiting in Jacmel, there is a sense of the action behind the work. The city seems to be constantly producing. It was a treat to visit the school that applies the best to this reality. Ciné Institute, tucked away in a closed down hotel “Indian Rock Hotel” has been functioning since 2006. It started by an initiative of the founders to start a film festival in the city. Film Festival Jakmel.

Today, Ciné Institute plays an important role in bringing people into the city of Jacmel. When I met David Belle, the founder of the school, he mentioned that in 4 days, he already had 4 private jets fly into the city with celebrities such as Adriana Lima (what a coincidence that her name is Adriana) Russel James and Donna Karan.

I have been watching Ciné Institute grow from afar, for a while now, and I was glad to visit the place, meet David Belle and some of the students. They have been working very hard at shining a positive light unto the city, once again demonstrating the impressive sense of progressive civic responsibility the Jacmelians have.

Oath of the Ancestors | Serment des Ancêtres

Exhibition design around a painting which mobility through time and space constantly challenges our notion of freedom and cultural ownership. Le Serment des Ancetres by Guillaume Guillon Lethiere revealed the prominent French painter’s identity as a Mixed-race child of a French father and Guadeloupean mother. By sending the painting to Haiti in 1822, he showed his solidarity to the newly emancipated Black Nation, yet he rendered a white God sanctifying the Oath between Dessalines and Pétion, expressing personal struggle in looking for his French father’s recognition. This painting conveys many complex social layers also found in the Manoir Alexandra.

Below, schematic ideas as to how to interpret such exhibitions in the Manoir Alexandra

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Serment des Ancêtres, damaged during the earthquake and retrieved from the Haitian Presidential Palace. Today, the Serment des Ancêtres is exhibited at the Louvre Museum under a show titled “Les Musées sont des Mondes” … http://mini-site.louvre.fr/trimestriel/2011/3/index.html#/28

Black Content in a White Cube 

When the Modern confronts the Old … and when the governing voice…. is still the same

More Coming Soon 

Knocking on Heaven’s Door | La Mariée Oubliée


In the midst of the affectionate chatter of my maids of honor at the foot of the stairs, I proclaimed my thirst aloud. I would really like a glass of ice water.” […] Had someone foreseen my last-minute thirst?

Hadriana in All my Dreams | René Dépestre

When Hadriana wakes up from her state of coma, she knocks at all doors surrounding the Central Plaza. The night is torrential and her followers are getting closer to her. The city mourns her death but has now shut its doors.

But is the city solely comprised of her family the Siloés, the Krafts and the Catholic sisters who now ignore her? Hadriana’s image of purity was gone as soon as her body came out of the Church. People dancing the Rabòday around her to bring her back to life, have forever affected her innocence. Nobody around the plaza will answer to her calls because she is now no longer worth their recognition.

Early sketch

Below is a sketch illustrating how I wished to tackle issues of transparency with the Manoir Alexandra. When I started research for my thesis during the Summer of 2011, I was interested in using the Manoir as an accessible and progressive Town Hall.   I had begun altering the architecture of the mansion to provide more porches and public viewing access to the bay. Now, I am more inclined to keeping the aspect of the house in ruins, conserving memories of the aftermath of a catastrophe and its impact on the architecture of a place.

As I have learned in November 2011, that the Manoir Alexandra is becoming a cultural center and museum space, the goal is now to occupy its interiors, and most importantly its gardens, while perpetuating the narratives I wish to preserve in my thesis. 

During my happy life as a girl, there had always been three spaces- the inward garden, the exterior courtyard, and the Caribbean side. It was very warm in all of them.

Hadriana in All my Dreams | René Depestre

Granchiré | La Mariée Souillée

Les Papillons ne sont que des fleurs envolées un jour de fête où la nature était en veine d’invention et de fécondité. “Butterflies are but flowers that blew away one sunny day when Nature was feeling at her most inventive and fertile.” George Sand

“Go Hadriana!” said a voice inside on the Caribbean side

Hadriana In All my Dreams- René Dépestre 

In Hadriana in All my Dreams, Granchiré is a Man-Butterfly who terrorizes Jacmelian families by luring their young women. On the day of her wedding, Hadriana dies at the altar of the Cathedral St Phillipe & St Jacques. Although some believe that her passion to marry has caused her death, the following day her corpse disappears from the cemetery. Those who had tried fervently to bring her back to life with Vaudou processions on the Place d’Armes, are finally convinced that Granchiré had not been satisfied yet. For a very last time, he takes away the life and purity of a young girl.