Appointed curator in residence at the Maison de la culture Janine-Sutto for 2022, Dominique Fontaine proposes, as a culmination of her year, the exhibition Sovereign imaginaries. With fifteen artists of Haitian origin (mainly painters), the program is so vast that a section is also presented at the Hugues Charbonneau gallery. Dominique Fontaine tells us about it.
Why an exhibition of artists of Haitian origin?
It’s that a new generation is imposing itself, is represented by private galleries such as Hugues Charbonneau and [ses oeuvres sont] collected. The idea was to show this effervescence. There have always been artists of Haitian origin who practice in Montreal, but it has been very slow to recognize them.
Should an injustice be righted?
No, not at all, although my work as a curator can resemble that of an activist, because I am interested in issues that are outside the box. I am not on a crusade. I do it because it seems important to me to show these artists. Their work changes our perception of the world, opens our eyes.
Many works are tinged with dreams, spiritualism, voodoo culture. Is this what these artists have in common?
There are many who are inspired by voodoo, a religion, a philosophy also linked to natural sources. Take for example Clovis-Alexandre Desvarieux and his work Legba The Opening. Legba, in Voodoo culture, is the god who opens doors. Marie-Hélène Cauvin is interested in tales and mythologies, but not in voodoo. His work contains dreams, but that is not what defines him. She has a point about the contemporary world, about violence, about gangs. Artists should not be confined to a single register. That’s the exhibition, a multiplicity of imaginations.
Can we talk about Haitian art?
No no. It is contemporary art, made by artists who have Haitian origins. They draw from this visual encyclopedia that is Haiti, with a tradition that dates back to 1804, the year of independence. But they create in dialogue with Montreal, or are influenced by it. And they express themselves without worrying about constraining contexts.
What was the purpose of the exhibition? Let us discover these artists?
In the case of Gelsy Verna, who died in 2008 and had no representation, it had to be revealed. But the mission of the exhibition was to salute the artists. I wouldn’t use the word “discovery”, because it has a colonialist connotation. To discover is as if these artists were hidden. No, they are there, they exist. We cannot discover Manuel Mathieu nor Clovis, who exhibit abroad. We cannot discover Stanley February, who has just been a finalist for the Sobey prize. They constantly produced exhibits. Whether [les gens] weren’t interested in them, that doesn’t mean they didn’t exist.
For several years now, Manuel Mathieu has enjoyed great success. Has it become unavoidable?
He is part of this scene that emanates from the Haitian community of Montreal. We couldn’t have done the exhibition without him. He is the first black Canadian artist to have had a solo exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). It also opens doors by creating a fund for [stimuler l’acquisition] works… If there is so much interest in artists from ethnocultural communities, it’s thanks to people like Manuel.
You were one of the curators of the exhibition We are here, from here. Contemporary Black Canadian Art (MMFA, 2018). You call yourself an activist. Your job is to protest?
My work does not lead me to demonstrate in the street. It is a work where I say that there is a lack, blind spots, holes in our art history, in our visual culture in Canada. You have to make projects that question all that and rewrite it.
Has the Black Lives Matter movement helped to change mentalities?
Yes, absolutely. It was from that moment that we started to make statistics: how many black artists, indigenous artists or artists from ethnocultural communities are “collected”, how many sit on boards of directors… It led to a change of ‘attitude. To take the right train.
The Hugues Charbonneau gallery already represents artists from black communities, not just Haitian (Mathieu, Desvarieux, Moridja Kitenge Banza). Why also exhibit there?
I have already made the joke to Hugues that he will soon represent all Haitian artists. Strategically, it was important, because private galleries have a link with collectors and museums. We must allow artists who do not yet have a representation to enter the major collections. Not one or two artists. Fifteen. Hugues Charbonneau opens the door to greater recognition.