La Marcheuse

Statement of Intent

Movement has been at the heart of my work for the past 15 years as artistic director of Compagnie l’Homme debout: the gestures of our giant puppets, their slowness, their dances, their travels through cities and landscapes are the subject of countless hours of reflection and rehearsal.

But before the puppet, there is the material — flexible and light: willow, which gives form to the characters we imagine. Before the puppet, there are large sculptures, for which we weave hundreds of willow strands, countless intertwined lines through which we also seek to instill movement in bodies that will, for the moment, remain inert.

Movement is also central to the concerns of the patients and caregivers at the Richelieu Rehabilitation Center: from the simplest, most essential gestures to the potential recovery of a certain autonomy. Each individual aims to increase this autonomy.

At Richelieu, I have seen people struggle to grasp an object, to sit down, to stand up. I have seen fragile first steps, extreme concentration, exhaustion, discouragement, resilience — and also the joy of achieving a set goal.

I envision creating a giant sculpture, approximately 4 meters tall, entirely made of intertwined willow strands. I imagine a walking figure, as a poetic symbol of the autonomy so earnestly sought. This will not be a light or effortless step. We will attempt to convey the difficulty, the effort, and the determination required to take a single step.

This sculpture will be built collectively. Every patient and caregiver is invited to participate in its creation.