The resulting permanent installation continuously streams the recording of this performed reading. The aural effect is singular: the hypnotic rhythms sound like incantations or Gregorian chants that echo the symbolic strength of Acadian oral traditions and speech. The sonic dimension of the work is rendered material by a set of texts printed on transparent Plexiglas panels that are superimposed, making it difficult to read the excerpts. A listening station gives the spectator an opportunity to experience a private moment of contemplation with the work and to relive the experience of the acoustic performance at Galerie Sans Nom, a key exhibition space in the history of contemporary art in Acadie. By creating a collaborative, interdisciplinary piece that uses multiple quotes taken from Acadian literary texts, both past and present, Arseneault’s work is an ode to the interrelationship between the visual and literary arts.
The artist would like to thank Paul Bossé, Monica Bolduc, Céleste Godin, Monique Arseneault, Marc Chamberlain and Xavier Richard for their contributions to the project.
She would also like to extend special thanks to the authors cited: Napoléon Landry, Herménégilde Chiasson, Joséphine Duguay, Martin Pitre, François-Moïse Lanteigne, Raymond-Guy LeBlanc, Jean-Marc Dugas, Marc Arseneau, Marc Poirier, Gérald Leblanc, Paul Bossé, Marie-Jo Thério, Guy Arsenault, Zéro Celcius, Zachary Richard, Les Hay Babies, Denis Richard et Georgette LeBlanc.
