Michaëlle Sergile

Michaëlle Sergile’s interest in rewriting history through weaving has led her to rework texts and books that focus on postcolonial theories and the notion of cultural identity. In Peau noire, masques blancs (1952), Frantz Fanon, who is often cited as one of the most important authors of postcolonial theory, addressed not only the power dynamics between colonizers and colonized, but also the relationship between the Black and his "community." It is through this major work that the codification system took shape, prompting the artist to weave books and passages. By reworking the writings of authors such as Frantz Fanon, Mayotte Capécia and Félix Mnthali, she questions the place that black women occupy in these postcolonial narratives, cultural identity, as well as the notion of the "stranger." For the artist, the lexicon of weaving is closely linked to identity issues. When we weave threads that form intersections, there is a kind of speech that takes place. At times, the weavings reflect a cultural crossbreeding where the fabric becomes a meeting between different cultures. At others, the weavings reflect points of intersectional thinking.

In her studies, Michaëlle Sergile questions the notions of identity and the figure of the “Stranger.” She has exhibited at the ArtHelix Gallery in New York, at the Miami Art Fair and has participated in several group exhibitions in Montreal. She has received several prizes and scholarships during her academic career. She is currently project manager and curator for the Nigra Iuventa platform where she co-curated the first exhibition created by and for Black women in Quebec, which brought together several local and international artists.

Image: Peau noire, masques blancs presented as part of the exhibition Paramètres XVIII at the Place des Arts exhibition hall.
Photographer : Isabelle Tessier