The Hammonds House Museum in the Historic West End is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this year, and the Haitian artist Edouard Duval Carrié’s show Histories and Others will run through October 1st. Carrié, a contemporary artist based in Miami, fled the Papa Doc Duvalier regime with his family as a teen. He has lived in Montreal, New York, Paris, and Puerto Rico. He feels that he is an educator, and his work challenges the viewer to follow the meaning of the Caribbean-derived iconography that showcases the region's culture, history, politics, and religion.
Carrié speaks about his childhood in Haiti under the Papa Doc regime. His family fled to Puerto Rico, and when they returned to the country, he left for college. I asked him to share something about his home country that we might not know. He spoke about the French and sugar plantations that were exceptionally harsh. Haiti was the first to liberate itself from European rule, and they were punished severely.
I asked him about the Caribbean influence on his work. He speaks about the history and the different ethnic groups that converged in the area. This melange of Africans, Europeans, and Amerindians still influences the world.
The exhibition at the Hammonds House is entitled Histories and Others. I asked him how the theme came about and if the work came first. He speaks about knowing that the audience in Atlanta didn’t need context for his work.
His work is layered, and it takes several minutes to take it all in. He says that the picture is worth more than 1,000 words. He says his work makes you “read between the lines.” I asked him about one particular piece, and he shared our history, reflected in the work.
For more information on the exhibition Histories and Others
For more information Edouard Duval Carrié
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