Creating ties through a work of art:

With the event of the World Acadian Congress 2014, cocoons have flown from these parts of the world to become a planetwide diaspora.  Much like the twinning of cities, 80 ceramic cocoons were distributed and now have a twin in another part of the world. 

Celebrating women:

This project celebrates and honours women from all times.  From iconic acadian figures such as Évangeline to our sisters, daughters, aunts, mothers, and grandmothers, all of them committed themselves, body and soul, to their families and communities.  This work involves several countries throughout the world, where it is meant to leave a memory trace of these women's essence as well as of the event that is the 2014 World Acadian Congress.

The installation entitled COCOONS offers a contemporary portrait of women.  The cocoon's shape recurs in the work's elements: the main piece, the cocoon baby, the twins, and the ceramic shards, symbolizing the many generations of women.  One after the other, bloodline upon bloodline, women have embodied the gift of life and of self.  The bed of pebbles brings to mind the shores where many of these women landed or were left stranded.  As a bottle set upon the sea, each element set upon the pebbles bears a page of history.

The COCOONS installation is part of the City of Edmundston's public art collection.  It is on permanent display at the Edmundston Art Centre.

I gave the very first cocoon to a 10-year old boy from Neiva, Columbia, who was in the region during the CMA2014. Here he is holding his cocoon, in the desert of Tatacoa in Columbia, a place where paleontological fossils can be found. Strangely enough, the cocoon which I gave him was bright red with an engraving of a small boy riding a dinosaur!



Places on the planet where there are cocoons:

By sliding your mouse on the places circled on the map, you will be able to see the cocoons as well as their destinations.