Théra 1987

Galerie Noctuelle-Michel Groleau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada — Molded pigmented paper pulp, felt, silk, wooven linen, pigments — H. 170 to 185 cm x L. 90 to 65 cm x D. 4 to 15 cm. ”

“ For almost a decade Michelle Héon has worked two structurally distinct, although analogous and con­sequently converging, thematic veins. The artist has simultaneously explored garment/vestment and box/ house as 'containers' of both the corporal and the metaphysical, and as relics of archaeological intrigue. Although the oeuvre appears well suited to the intrinsic sensibilities of an Eastern psyche, receptive as it is to cyclical rhythms (life/death, burial/excavation) and unifying dualities (body/spirit, heaven/earth), it further appeals to the commonality of human experience as manifest through an evoked ritualistic dimension. Rit­ual is measured and employed as atavistic and com­pulsive, but sacred and mysterious to all humankind.

Héon's Ceremonial Dress and Kimono series, dating from the late 1970's to the mid-1980's (Fig. #1), have been described as "delicate artifacts... [that] drape the spectre of those who have gone before us."' Their out-stretched gesture and spatial suspension (ie. they are installed in proximity to, though not actu­ally affixed to, the wall) suggests not only sacrifice, but spiritual flight - a crucifixion/resurrection theme - a soaring Paraclete. Various natural and synthetic fibres, felted materials and cast paper are molded and strati­fied like mud; creating a likeness to mummified fabric.

  The works possess volcanic surfaces-devas­tated grounds holding elements of stone, hide, and fossil in earthen hues of black, grays, and reds. Many components were introduced not only as metaphor but as invitation to formal discourse. Charcoal, for ex­ample, a metamorphic substance, symbolizes the passage of millennia and transformation over time. As weft, its brilliance replaces that of silk in early Ceremo­nial Robes .

“Stripped of any elaborate ornamentation, there is nonetheless a regal preciousness about [these robes] which invites a closer inspection of their interior and exterior surfaces. "3 The viewer is cast in the role or archaeologist in search of historical fragment and ancestral memory. Levels of information are system­atically uncovered as the spectator sifts through sedi­mentary beds pierced by erratic messages and signi­fying intrusions.

In a parallel time frame Héon's other sculptural thema have resulted in the materialization of similar narrative structures. In the evolution of the box from coffer (1980-83) to sarcophagus (1984-85, Fig. #2) to abode (1986-87) there has been a move from crypt to domestic shelter, from place of eternal rest to place of lived experiences, and ultimately, from inner sanctum/ preservation to towering aspiration.

The multipartite installation piece entitled Caere Site 2, 1986 (Fig. #3) must be considered the culmina­tion of the artist's 'box' compositions. Although in­spired by visits to Italian excavation projects at Popu­lonium and Cerveteri (the latter was called Caere in the language of the Etruscans), the work is "essentially a fictitious archaeological object, an image, an interpre­tation of the historical process of destruction and re­constitution... relating to the temporality of human beings and objects." It may also be read as Pirandel­loesque in the sense that it functions as a stage in search of actors; an environment in which 'players' may better identify themselves. We look upon a 'terra incognita' - a waking dream that makes a city an expressive emblem, an overt sign of a secret attitude - that of the dreamer. Caere is thus, a cogent reifica­tion of the sublime.

  In their totality, Héon's 'robes' and 'boxes' encompass a kind of universal dwelling, neither time nor place specific. In the logical extension of these shared characteristics, garment and shelter finally merge in 1987-88 (Fig. #5). Paper becomes tissue-like in tear and silhouette but not in surface texture. Right ­angle protrusions imply hidden architecture beneath mutilated grounds. The physical space in which we experience dreaming has reconstituted itself in a new dream, sacred and profane, inevitably returning to the cyclical rhythm of life and death.”