Cynthia Fecteau

Working in fields at the juncture of writing, art creation, and research, Cynthia Fecteau is interested in different ways of being in the world, which she considers through ecological, philosophical, and social perspectives. In her practice, she explores how art and creation modulate our relationship with the real and enable us to become engaged with our environment.

Writing about artworks and approaches to art requires strong senses of observation and listening – and it is the same for every writing practice. It was with this in mind that Cynthia began her residency. Following a simple principle, that of avoiding writing about art, she probed her own creative process, attentive as much to the micro-events taking place in her studio as to the broader context of the residency.

And so, she first settled herself in a contemplative position; letting herself be inspired by the Port-Joli landscape, she moulded the text of its movement and rhythm. The fragments of daily writing that she collected in the form of typed sheets of paper traced this premise in the shape of the shoreline. Then, as she took walks and had encounters, the contours of a community were traced on the pages. Slowly, a home was sketched out – read floor by floor – lived in by a protagonist with the enhanced truth of fiction.

Cynthia archived the story of an encounter, as a backdrop, by manipulating text like a material that keeps in memory the transformations that it is made to undergo. Words typed on a typewriter bear the marks of hesitations and looks back – of the experience that brought them to paper. Like a wave undulating between the author’s frank introspection and her sensitive engagement, the act of reading sweeps us up and then sets us down in this welcoming landscape.