Eparrei !

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The title of this series comes from the greeting for lansã.

 

In Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, in Candomblé, Iansã is the goddess (orishas) who commands the winds, storms and lightning. Warrior and unbeatable, she is associated with sensuality and charm. She controls the mysteries surrounding the dead and invites renewal. Associated with twilight, its colors are pink, purple, red or brown. In the religious syncretism, it corresponds to Saint Barbara, saint celebrated on December 4th and particularly popular in Lebanon.

 

This project began with renovations in my apartment. For about fifteen years, photos of family, close friends, and travels were hung on the wall, next to my desk, and changed according to events and travels. Each frame contained the old photos. During a renovation, the thirty or so frames were taken down and all the photos were removed. Before placing the hundred or so photos in a box, I wanted to renew these photos by inviting them to the wind, to revive these memories. A quote kept coming to mind: 

 

 « (…) nous ne sommes pas assez subtils pour apercevoir « l’écoulement probablement  absolu du devenir ; le permanent n'existe que grâce à nos organes grossiers qui résument et ramènent les choses à des plans communs, alors que rien n'existe sous cette forme. L'arbre est à chaque instant une chose neuve ; nous  affirmons la forme parce que nous ne saisissons pas la subtilité́ d'un mouvement absolu.» (Nietzsche). »* 

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The tree is at every moment a new thing, so these images would be this tree, like the colors of the laundry in a washing machine in operation or the lighting of the apartments at the arrival of the twilight on the downtown of Montreal. They aim to make our soul vibrate in unison with nature, inviting reality to come directly to our senses and our consciousness in order to be in immediate communication with things and with ourselves.   

 

The presentation of this project calls for a special festive device, designed to generate interactivity for the visitor and invite the renewal and memory of the wind!

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Eparrei !

 

*BARTHES, Roland. 1973. Le Plaisir du texte, Paris : Seuil, Coll. Tel Quel, dirigé par Philippe Sollers, p.96