art jam
featured in correspondance exhibit in Lafayette,louisiana at Acadiana center for the arts
April 12 - June 14, 2025
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“A Great and Noble Scheme (Reprise) 2025”
Aug 9 1775- sir Charles Lawrence
“We are now upon a great and noble scheme of fending the neutrals French out of this province, who have always been secret enemies…if we effect their expulsion it will be one of the greatest things that ever the English did in America.”
When François sent his paper doll and told me to create whatever
I feel with it, I thought long and hard about all the possibilities, eventually settling on drawing the parallels between the actions by the English in 1755 and the current events of today in 2025,
using the well known story of Evangeline as the conduit.
-LUCIUS FONTENTOT​
For this piece, I contributed an articulated Arlequin figure topped with a RÉvangéline self-portrait head.
This hybrid creation bridges two of my ongoing explorations—my RÉvangéline series and my Arlequin series.
Both centre on mythical characters whose images are familiar, yet whose voices remain elusive.
Évangéline and Aarlequin are icons embedded in our cultural imagination.
Over time, their images have been distilled into symbols—recognizable, commodified, and often romanticized.
I’m compelled to disrupt those simplified narratives.
My work seeks to deconstruct these inherited myths and breathe new life into them,
reshaping their identities through contemporary lenses.
Here, Révangéline and Arlequin meet in a surreal, eternal pantomime—
a silent but charged exchange between myth and memory, fiction and truth.
-FRANÇOIS GAUDET
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When I received this large black and white piece from Canada, I was beyond excited. It stared at me for weeks before I had the nerve to alter it. I decided I did not want to know François' intentions behind the piece, because I thought it may influence my addition to it. He gave me full permission to light it on fire if I felt the desire. My first vision was sunbeams sprouting from his eyes which transformed him into Beausoleil for me. He was a complex character so an iridescent textile mask seemed fitting. The leaves of the swamp lotus are made from the same fabric and are the ultimate symbol of resiliency. During the Artist Tea Talk, François and I revealed our symbology to each other and with the guests.
To engage in a transcontinental exchange, without ever meeting each other in person, was quite a profound act to share.
Our lineage bond provided a built-in trust.
-ROZALYN LeCOMPTE
For this collaboration, I sent a large-format black-and-white self-portrait from the RÉvangéline series,
measuring 3 feet by 6 feet and printed on paper. The image, mirroring a layered 2/4 format camera aesthetic,
functions as both portrait and mask—a shifting representation of identity.
A horse stands within the frame, referencing the wild Acadian horses—symbols of survival, freedom, and untamed spirit. These elements converge to explore the intersections of history and selfhood, memory and myth.
Together, Roz and I create a striking visual that expands the emotional and symbolic depth of the series.
This portrait doesn't just document a face; it reveals an inner terrain shaped by generational echoes and inherited stories.
-FRANÇOIS GAUDET