Québécoise artist Danaé Brissonnet is in front of her mural, Reconnection. She’s painting it on the Moss St. side of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV). The mural was part of the Puppets for Peace Celebration, the first of its kind, taking place in Victoria September 19–21, 2014. It was a collaboration between the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria and the Puppeteers of America Pacific Northwest Festival under the direction of Canadian Gemini award-winning puppeteer Tim Gosley.
Puppeteers of America is a US based non-profit organization founded in 1937 to provide information, encourage performances and build a community of people who celebrate puppet theatre. It has produced over 160 national and regional festivals to celebrate and share the art of puppetry.
One of the main events of the celebration was the Puppets for Peace Parade which occurred on September 21, 2014, in conjunction with the United Nations International Day of Peace. Reconnectionbecame part of a performance as puppeteers animated aspects of Danaé’s mural seemingly bringing them to life off the wall and then joining the Puppets for Peace Parade which made its way from Craigdarroch Castle to Victoria’s Government House, the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
Danaé’s mural combines elements of Danaé’s eastern Canadian background with familiar West Coast symbolism. Since children were to carry butterfly puppets in the parade, Danaé recalled a legend of a butterfly told to her by a family friend.
“This legend tells the story of a woman in an Algonquin village who was the only person who could see tiny colorful lizards that ran on the ground. These lizards gave her the power to heal people of their anger and hate, and allowed her to keep peace in the village. When she grew old and was about to die, she invited the lizards to join her underground. Her soul lifted from the ground, part lizard and eventually a colorful butterfly. The butterfly continued the woman’s work in healing people of the village from anger and hate.
Images on the right hand side of the mural depict the village on the woman’s back. Dying, the woman’s body becomes part lizard and her soul, a colorful butterfly. Roots and salmon grow from her body symbolizing reconnection to the earth and the water. She exhales a forest populated by beings – people as trees. The forest landscape is a tribute to Emily Carr: The Young Generation currently on exhibit at the Gallery.
On the left hand side of the mural, the theme of transformation is reflected through the processes of creation, death and rebirth using West Coast animals to tell the story. The people trees are ingested by the bear, forming a social structure of people shaped bones akin to a spine/tail of a salmon. The bear’s salmon tail signifies predator with the prey, both necessary elements in a balanced, stable and healthy ecosystem. At the end of the fish tail is a face, exhaling feathers creating a two-headed sea gull, with one exhaling a heron. The sea gulls are useful to the bear, holding the salmon tail over the bear by human hands.
At the top centre of the mural, the sun shaped like a mouth beams light yelling “liberation!” – encouraging us to transform and heal ourselves of hate and anger.” –Danaé Brissonnet transcribed by Peter Freedman.
Although Danaé is only 22 years old, her murals have appeared over the past few years in Mexico, Nicaragua, the French Caribbean, Nepal and Taiwan. Her surrealistic murals reflect on the reality of our globalizing world and its effect on diverse cultures. She is skilled as well in puppeteering, sculpture and drawing.
Danaé was sponsored by the AGGV Education, Public Programming in an artistic exchange with the Puppets for Peace Celebration where she participated as both a muralist and puppeteer. She gave a puppet-making workshop at the AGGV on Sept. 13.
Danaé is a passionate, creative and prolific artist. Her youthful exuberance is contagious and one can only wish her well in her future endeavours. Her mural will be on display for the next several months at the AGGV.
Photo by Peter Freedman
