I eat a piece of sugar cream, planted in the middle of the Jean-Talon market. I figured that’s probably what I would write on Patsy’s list right now: “I love fudge, especially maple.” »
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Artist Patsy Van Roost (known to many as the “Mile End Fairy” or “Urban Fairy”) has completed 120 projects in the past decade. His most recent is of rare beauty. She asked her fellow citizens to tell her what they like. She then recorded the 600 responses collected on 11 panels that are now displayed in the Villeray district of Montreal.
On the list I saw at the entrance to the Jean-Talon market, for example: “I like the sound of the rain on the tiles”, “I like other people’s dogs”, “I like the ‘smell of French toast’, ‘I’ve enjoyed being in your arms for 30 years’.
It’s hard to stay indifferent.
I see Patsy in the distance. I wolf down my last bite before she finds me and says warmly, “Are you okay if we walk?” I want to show you the other lists and I can take the opportunity to tell you how it all started…”
***
January 2021.
Patsy Van Roost has recently moved into a new apartment and wants to get to know her neighbors. But there is a pandemic. So she writes a letter to all those who live on her stretch of street. In this message, she asks them to tell her something they like. And watch out! If there are several under the same roof, they must come to a consensus…
About fifty neighbors write to him again.
The artist then undertakes to create a banner for each of them. This precisely indicates their answer, in beautiful large yellow characters. On the morning of February 13, she puts the gifts in her neighbours’ mailboxes and suggests that they display their banner for Valentine’s Day.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Patsy Van Roost in front of a list of things people say they love
A year later, half of the works are still hanging on local balconies.
(Special greetings to the gang of roommates who agreed on: “I love Espelette peppers”!)
***
January 2022.
Patsy Van Roost is discouraged by the ambient climate.
Social media was made hateful. It pained me so much, people were divided… I told myself that I could apply my little idea to my whole neighborhood!
Patsy VanRoost
La Fée immediately received support from the Maison de la culture Claude-Léveillé. She settled there to offer banner-making workshops. However, as health rules only allowed her to see one family bubble at a time, Patsy was only able to meet 32 families.
“The bubbles had to arrive with their sentence already ready. They had often spent the week discussing what they liked and looking for their common interest, ”says Patsy, visibly proud.
She admits to me that she was particularly moved by a 7-year-old girl who found the following family phrase: “I love your beating heart. »
We understand it.
Accustomed to large-scale collaborative projects, the artist had the opportunity to accompany such small groups for the first time.
“I had time to meet them… And what’s great is that when your hands work, your heart opens. There is no more restraint. »
***
February 2022.
The problem is that several other people were interested in Patsy’s project and that the artist does not give in to exclusion. So she created a list of things that she herself likes – it started with “I like polpettes” – and she shared it on Facebook while surveying her network: “You, what do you like? »
“The answers kept coming in and I didn’t want to be alone with this magic!” “, she recalls.
Patsy told her virtual network that she dreamed of doing a project based on these likes. Immediately, without even knowing what the artist had in mind, a woman made a donation of $250. It was enough for Patsy to turn love into several lists printed on Coroplast.
The Fairy is there for her community. And often, his community pays him back.
* * *
We are now in front of the Sainte-Cécile church, on De Castelneau. Patsy and I read the contents of the five lists posted near the sidewalk.
“I like steamed mustard cabbage; love in secret; flaws that don’t hurt; touch the hot paper coming out of the printer; wake up without an alarm. »
Me too, I like it all. This is the strength of the project, moreover. Remind ourselves of those little things that warm our hearts or make us want to get up (without alarm).
“People talk a lot about their cat,” Patsy remarks. More than humans! There were several duplicates, too. For example, many men wrote that they like to love. It surprised me so much! That’s what I want, me, a man who likes to love… Where are they? »
She bursts out laughing and I swear to you that this sound would pulverize any temporary depression.
If you don’t have a Patsy around to cheer you up, you can always keep track of your project.
In fact, the Fairy will take off her Coroplast on February 28th. However, the 11 lists will remain available on his Facebook account. Because Patsy hopes they’ll come in handy.
“You can choose the one that inspires you the most and display it in your office,” she suggests. Your friend is sad? You print out a list, put it in an envelope and send it to her. It’s comforting to read all this. »
The beautiful idea.
“How do you come up with such sweet initiatives, Patsy?”
— I like to say that I offer urban caresses. I work outside the walls, where the magic happens. And my material is other people. »