VOICES

2017 Ghetto Biennial – Cartographies

The theme of Cartographies for the 2017 rendition of the Biennial was in sync with the networks of gardens from which we had both sourced and dispersed plants. I was very happy to reconnect with moira williams. We met during the 2013 biennial, and she became an unanticipated but essential collaborator during this one. A plant person to the core of her soul, moira is an invaluable source of wisdom and an artist Claude held in the highest regard. We focused on working with plants that were thriving from two years prior. Along with Katelyne Alexis, Basile Wesner & Noel Edgard, we worked to create a nexus out of Claude’s space in order to amplify the tree sphere around the Grand Rue. Claude created a shrine that was later featured in a beautiful exhibition at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. The magic of the piece as we knew it, was expressed in the ways we worked together to activate it during the course of the Biennial.

As we dispersed saplings, we gathered ecological artworks which we brought to Claude, who in turn would smile at every chosen item before placing it carefully in his shrine room. He wove together the collection in ways that were dynamic; dispersing energy as much as collecting objects, echoing ways wild-crafters will replenish the landscape as they progress in gathering. The staff moira made for her performance was prominently displayed along with the cross that Claude carried during the Ra-Ra performance that opened the Biennial final weekend. Along with various fruits from the market, we saved seeds from the shared meal that was prepared by a group of neighborhood women that year. We researched how to germinate various fruit seeds that were ripening around the neighborhood and set up demonstration grounds with Claude in his garden. Saved seeds were stored in clay vessels that were interspersed with sculptures on his shrine as an offering both to the sacred representations therein, and also to community members to try cultivating in their pocket gardens.   

A large part of activating Lakou Claude were the workshops we hosted, which focused on creative exchange and relationships with the land. Papouche gathered lambi shells as symbols of freedom during our group trip to the beach. Katelyne led a workshop painting them, then installed some around the newly planted Moringa saplings in her garden as a nod towards the potential of food sovereignty. moira pulled out a large cotton drop cloth and invited Timoun to draw representations of plants, birds and pollinators from open-sourced images I’d gathered to practice observational drawing of local wildlife. From raucous crowds to meditative drawing sessions, our gatherings were a creative activation of Claude’s lakou that extended the natural world beyond the confines of his garden. They produced community artworks that were displayed both in Jardin Katelyne and woven into Claude’s shrine. We all loved interweaving ecological acts with creative turns that engaged both human and non-human members of the community. The celebratory nature of these gatherings proved an effective means for urban land restoration.

Years on, I’m happy to see how quickly the moringa we planted have grown into mature trees. I’m glad to know they return the care given to them as saplings despite the extreme difficulties presented by the current political climate. Every one of us who was touched by this work carries the teachings of Claude in our hearts. Claude was immensely sensitive to the ways energy moved. When tuned into his quiet gestures, he was constantly pointing out currents traveling through the spaces we share. I feel he has now joined this flow of energy and welcome the expanded breadth of his range. He is such a wonderful collaborator because of the ways he creates respectful and open spaces to express the love and significance of regeneration together.