WHere care meets creation
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Creative Composition and outline for future Art Installation | Exhibition
by Annick Maugile Flavien
For my studio comprehensive exam with Professor Deanna Bowen, I presented a multimedia creative composition entitled ‘Where Care Meets Creation’ that explores themes around Black Aging and Caregiving in Canada through an autoethnographic exploration of my experience caregiving for my mother, Bernadette Maugile. This webpage documents the creative pieces within this composition and outlines the layout I envision for a future art installation and exhibition of this work as it continues to grow.
* The presentation of the composition was set up in the Black Box at the Acts of Listening Lab at Concordia University, their generosity in sharing a space and technical resources to rehearse and explore presentation possibilities is much appreciated.
.section 1:
the black aging mind
My entry point into my field of research was the Black aging mind because as the daughter of two heavyweight Black intellectuals and social activists, who was raised through Black thought and the radicalism of valuing Black lives, I have seen first-hand the toll that this work and plain simply Black existence in an Anti-Black world takes on our aging minds. I have seen and learned how Anti-Black social structures erase Black experiences and occupy Black bodies and minds, which though viscerally enraging, has brought me to slow down enough to witness and appreciate the aging minds of Black elders.
seen but not heard
still frames
“Who’s this beautiful lady”
Bernadette Maugile notices a photo by the window sill of a beautiful woman in a wedding dress. It sparks her interest and she picks it up.
“That’s you mom”
Bernadette Maugile notices a photo by the window sill of a beautiful woman in a wedding dress. It sparks her interest and she picks it up. When her daughter tells her that it’s a photo of her wedding day she is surprised.
“Well, I look good!”
Bernadette Maugile notices a photo by the window sill of a beautiful woman in a wedding dress. It sparks her interest and she picks it up. When her daughter tells her that it’s a photo of her wedding day she is surprised. She then recognizes herself, beams, and says “Well, I look good!”
despite all odds
These elders, despite all odds, have managed to age into their senior years and embody an archive of presence and influence in this world, as well as an ongoing record of the impact and consequences the world has on Black life and aging.
“Out there”
Bernadette Maugile looks out the window and talks to her daughter. The outdoor represent a lot of unknowns and discomforts for her, especially in the winter. In this conversation she talked about how she wishes the could would go somewhere warm so she can see people walking by again. She worries because she hasn't seen the neighbours in a while and wonders if they may have moved away because they don’t want to live next to a Black family.
“Manman m te gen 5 pitit”
Bernadette Maugile counts down her siblings on her fingers. She is the youngest of 5 children and the last surviving sibling. She regularly counts her siblings on her fingers to remember who has passed and wonders who is left in her home village in Haiti.
beyond all odds
“Poto Mitan”
Mme Maugile sits on a rocking chair with her two grandchildren surrounding her. This is where they tend to congregate whenever she’s in the living room, she is what Haitians call the Poto mitan (the centre pole) of the family and the children are always drawn to her.
“Culture Keeper”
Mme Maugile dances a traditional Haitian dance and sings ‘Bel Congo’ in Haitian Creole for her granddaughter. This is one of the ways she keeps her granddaughter entertained while her daughter takes care of the home. There isn’t a day that she doesn’t sing for her grandchildren, she feels this is best way she can share her culture with them.
Life in Movement
Studio comps presentation set up at Acts of Listening Lab Concordia
Feedback from Professor Bowen:
Post presentation reflections:
section 2:
the caregiving monologues
heard but not seen
Caregiving for me is not just about making sure that my mother’s tangible needs are met but rather to foster a space and context where she gets to be herself for as long as possible, I get to have the mother I knew for as long as possible, and for my children to know have the grandmother we didn’t even know she had inside of her. This relationship is a two-way street, and though there is a significant weight to caregiving and I cannot the deny the impact my mother’s Alzheimer’s has had on our lives, I also see the ways in which it has taught me a lot about my mother and who she is at core. Her ever-changing mind has us our toes but I’m grateful to be able to witness her daily and be behind the lens of this stage in her life. -Annick Maugile Flavien
Potential set up for art installation
Feedback from Professor Bowen:
Post presentation reflections:
section 3:
black principles of co-creative care
home as a site of resistance (advocacy)
layered care relationality (trust)
generative memory work (agency)
collaboration
understanding or rather the ability to understand
mourning with and for them
Mrs. Maugile’s mind has changed over the years. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020 but as her caregiver and daughter, I’d seen the signs at least a decade earlier. Her life is now so different from her decades of public participation as a passionately outspoken thinker, fearless activist, dedicated educator, and community leader. This chapter is quieter, often confined to the private realm of our home, unseen and uncelebrated by others but just as political as her presence has always been. I guess experience was on our side as we’d seen her four older siblings move through dementia before her. In some ways being prepared for this stage has allowed us to lean into the unexpected beauties of her changing brain amidst the challenges. Non-linear narratives, blurry timelines, pops of tunes and hymns here and there, moments of crystal-clear clarity, friendly fibs, muddled memories and unfiltered commentary all weaving into a unique style of storytelling that is best understood through intimacy and context. A trail of seeds being planted as legacy for her dearest loved ones to nurture first before they share it with the world.