PRESENTATION DE L'EXPO
"Pièce d'Inde"
From May 16 at June 06, 2003, José Legrand presents its recent works in its workshop of the Zunève in Cayenne.
The exposure is called "Part of India" in memory of these fabric rollers which were used as exchange to import slaves of African origin in America.
For a few years, the Madras fabric has been used as support with the work of this artist.
For its poster presenting the exposure, José Legrand chose two symbols of the American southern continent: Machu Pichu and the lake Titicaca with its light boats. The photographs which represent it only in front of these places would be simple tourist stereotypes if there were not this mention "Part of India". With this large title written in front of with English, the form of writing which one used to index the goods on the boats, there are allusion at the origin of its presence on the continent and will to transgress the colonial chart.
A catalogue associated with this exposure is under development.
In this one, Giovanni Joppolo, critical of art, author of tests: "Mimo Rotella", or "the matierism in the painting of the Eighties" presents its vision of last work of José Legrand by titrating "engagement, the irreducible one".
Veerle Poupeye, historian and critical of art, author of a test on the contemporary art in the Caribbean regard that there is a continuity between the first conceptual work of the Seventies of the artist "Our ancestors the Gallic ones" and this series "Madras como maré". For this professor of the university center of studies on the Latin America and the Caribbean one in New York, the two steps are dependent and aim at a critic of the colonial concept. (in subversive Madras)
The writer inhabitant of Martinique, Raphaël Confiant, which knew José Legrand, studying with Beautiful Arts remember his first work: Marker of prints names it it by taking again his course of subversive artist.
Marie-José Hoyet, professor from university in Rome analyzes the use of the coconut and Madras to underline the greyness of the real daily newspaper.
For several years, José Legrand use the screen of Madras as bases work. Many fabric rollers used in the colonial counters came from Madras to India and one took the practice to indicate the coloured squarings introduced into the countries of the plantations of the name of this city. After having mixed in his fabrics, during the previous decade, the signs of culture of the various components of the population in Guyana, while underlining the common bond resulting from a colonial strategy, this artist stops lengthily on this shape symbol of the Caribbean world whose Guyana represents the point.
Associated the "têt maré ", its last punctuated compositions of "Como maré " underline the very strong direction of this creole verb inherited the crossing and which strikes the imaginary one. Maré comes from the Dutchman "aenmarren" which gave the nautical term to moor in French at the XV 2nd century. This at the precise time where Europe, starting from an epopee on sea, will divide the American continent.
In Creole, "Run jou maré" is one day when one will not be able to make large thing, a situation "maré" is a well compromised situation "maré Small fireclay cup" can be seen under this angle "como" refers to all these words which passed from one language to the other on the boats, the ports or the plantations and to this process "which gave rise to a process of language of a simplicity, of an elegance and about a concision which allure the philosopher..." Thus Alfred of Quentin Saint speaks about the Creole in 1872.
The Madras fabrics follow upon the series "Under the coconuts the greyness" where José Legrand takes again this plant which forms part of a stereotyped vision of the tropical world by associating it its critical approach.
Dominique Boisdron Quotation (with share)
"... and one sold to us on the places and the ell of English
cloth and the salted meat of Ireland were less expensive than us..."
In Book of a return to the native land of Aime Césaire
