For the purpose of fluidity I have decided to publish these blog entries in my native colonial language, English. However, I’m a bilingual (French/English) artist. Other nouns which I use to describe myself are dancer, mother and doula. I’m a she/her, living in Montreal for over 15 years.
I feel at once thrilled and challenged by the idea of researching one of the topics so close to my heart, maternity and the confrontations, obstacles, transformation and joy it encompasses, through an art project. Dance is my artistic medium of choice, however I consider this project taking on multidisciplinary forms. I’m interested in the history our bodies hold, wether yet conscious or not. The layers woven deep within our fascias tell stories of jubilation, grief and trauma. I would like to get to know peoples stories of their personal transformation into parenthood. Perhaps these stories will be used as a canvas, or sound score, to develop something which reveal these sentiments or this journey through the unspoken. There is a transformation from before and after having a child; the singular to the mother or father with offsprings. There is life before having a child and after, but it is never the same.
I would like to share a work which was created before applying to this research project. « Unravelling » was created through dancer and friend Brianna Lombardo and I’s dialoguing on grief. I believe this work was a precursor for what I am investigating now hence why I feel it appropriate to share as my first entry to this site. The focus is intentionally blurry as I often perceive grief to be a bit of a blurry experience. It is a deeply intense feeling which words can sometimes not describe clearly. Here, the body tells it’s own story.
