The Quebec studio Moment Factory dipped its brushes of light in the Huron-Wendat culture to paint a majestic fresco in honor of this First Nation. The Onhwa’ Lumina night walk, presented in the Boisé Saint-Rémy near Wendake, brings this rich Aboriginal heritage out of the shadows to finally make it shine with a thousand lights.
The result of two years of work carried out in close collaboration with the community of Wendake, the show invites discovery through wonder. Over the course of a journey divided into seven tableaux, the projections designed by the internationally renowned studio show Huron-Wendat traditions, cosmogony and spirituality. The walk, just over a kilometer long, winds through the heart of the forest and takes about an hour to complete.
The visit begins at dusk. Under the stars and the moon, the woods come to life, illuminated by the majestic setting imagined by Moment Factory. The trees become cathedrals, immense and lit as if by the light of stained glass windows. A whole sound decor, reflected down to the tiniest part, suggests the owl hooting, the branch cracking, the drum ringing or voices resounding. The forest becomes a haven of wonders and mysteries: it is in this atmosphere that the walker sets out to discover the unknown and thousand-year-old culture of the Huron-Wendats.
“That was really the primary ambition,” explains Marie Belzile, design director at Moment Factory. We wanted to arouse people’s curiosity with emotion, with the sensory and to make people discover the Wendat world through poetry.”
The paintings touch in particular on the philosophy of the circle, the base of the Huron-Wendat spirituality where each element, in the universe, contributes to the whole. A little further on, the myth of the creation of the world comes to life on a rock face. Then the silhouette of a longhouse invites the spectators into domestic intimacy. A Wendat lullaby is heard, a conversation between two families too, before the emblematic animals of the different clans that have populated Wendake emerge from the woods.
The scenes, sketched out by small animated touches of light, form so many impressionist paintings in which the walker moves at his own pace. The show lets its enigmas hover: Onhwa’ Lumina, nothing is explained, everything is felt. The desire behind the initiative, emphasizes Steeve Wahondik Wadohandik Gros-Louis, president of the Wendake Tourist Office, is not to offer a course. “We wanted to give viewers the opportunity to open their eyes and hearts wide to welcome our culture,” says the initiator of the project. We wanted to say it, but just enough.”
An electronic booklet remains available online to explore in more depth the symbolism displayed in each painting.
Recovery hope
Wendake hopes that Onwha’ — which means “now” in Wendat — will bring some relief to its economy, which has been affected by two years of pandemic. “The hotel-museum has floated”, illustrates the great chef Rémy Vincent about the sumptuous complex that has become the emblem of the village. Wendake managed to avoid sinking, but the COVID-19 storm left its mark.
“Without tourists, without cruise passengers, it was extremely difficult,” continues the great Huron-Wendat chief. Our merchants have eaten a hell of a slap. We had some misery.”
Onhwa’ Lumina, believes Mr. Vincent, has the potential to attract between 110,000 and 150,000 people a year to the outskirts of Wendake. A healthy windfall available in both summer and winter, since the trail will be closed only in the fall, from October to December, and in May, when the trail becomes less passable.
Wendake is committed to the adventure for at least six years. “We will see how it evolves. If the course remains popular, we can extend for 10 years,” maintains Grand Chief Vincent. Ultimately, Wendake expects to reap $3.5 million in economic spinoffs. The greater Quebec City region will be able to get an additional 11.5, according to estimates.
Of pride and friendship
The first impact of Onhwa’ Lumina, for Wendake, is pride. The realization of this show-event involved the whole community: citizens of the village embody the shadows that animate the paintings, it is also local artists who sing the songs that punctuate the course. The promenade generates enchantment, but also 173 jobs for the community.
The beginning of the exhibition teaches that the Wendat language has provided a word to designate the place “where the soul and the heart meet”. This crossroads was certainly located in the wooded Saint-Rémy, Tuesday, during the inauguration of Onhwa ‘Lumina. The improbable meeting between the technology of Moment Factory and the ancestral story of the Wendat nation has created a friendship and a palpable respect between the two universes.
“It’s really an honor to be able to participate in the transmission of this culture, says Jonathan St-Onge, general manager of “signature experiences” within the Montreal studio. This project really holds a very special place for us.”