Heart to Heart

Heart to Heart (2020) is a bilingual multidisciplinary and socially engaged project. Like much of my work, the project explores Old Sandwich Town, the oldest French settlement west of Montreal, situated on the traditional land of the Anishinaabe people. The community’s strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for the future are the venues through which my work evolves. In this particular project, (and similarly in my 2016 project, Stories from Old Sandwich Town: A Bridge to Somewhere) my work is based on the perspectives of individuals with links to the community.

The group of nine people who agreed to partner with me was inclusive and representative of the cultural diversity of the area. We met to discuss the Windsor Ontario community, focusing our conversations on what they valued about the ‘Town’, their concerns and their hopes for the future.

The resulting work, including mixed media portraits of the participants along with other artwork motivated by our conversations, are all chronicled in a bilingual booklet. Excerpts of the discussions accompany the portraits. They are hand-written in *franglais on acetate. Text in franglais was based on the comments of one of the francophone participants.

The underlying goal of my work continues to be to provoke thought and discussion about the development of existing and future communities.

*franglais: a mix of French and English used interchangeably while speaking or writing. It is very common in French minority situations, such as Windsor, Ontario.

Teajai Travis, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Merry Ellen Scully, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Issane Abdallah, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Fabio Costante, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Lynn Perreault, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Nil Parent, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Sente Muchunduzi, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Melissa Phillips, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Melissa Phillips, mixed media on wood, 20”x20”, 2020.
Teajai Travis II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Merry Ellen Scully II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Issane Abdallah II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Fabio Costante II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Lynn Perreault II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Nil Parent II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Melissa Phillips II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Sente Muchunduzi II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Colin Côté-Paulette II, mixed media on wood and text on vinyl, 20”x 35”, 2020.
Heart to Heart: installation view, 2020. Heart to Heart: installation view, 2020.
Trésors du quartier, found objects on wooden table, 3’x4’, 2020.
Le moulin et le Détroit, acrylic paint on found wood, 5”x5”, 2020.
Évolution de persévérance, acrylic on canvas, 3’x4’, 2020.
Heart to Heart / À cœur ouvert, mixed media on print with found objects, 2020.

The following are the individuals who agreed to participate in Heart to Heart:

Issane Abdallah, student and activity participant at New Canadian Centre for Excellence

Colin Côté-Paulette, journalist, Radio Canada, Toronto

Fabio Costante, Municipal Councillor, City of Windsor

Sente Muchunduzi, student and volunteer, New Canadian Centre for Excellence

Nil Parent, retired school principal from Conseil scolaire Providence

Lynn Perreault, improv artist, psychologist in organizational development

Melissa Phillips, Collections Assistant, Chimczuk Museum, Windsor Community Museum

Merry Ellen Scully, artist, Retired Director, Mackenzie Hall Cultural Centre

Teajai Travis, Exective Director, Artcite artist-run centre

.

Photo credit: Eveline Csomor and Linda Renaud Fisher