In her workshop in Montérégie, the artisan of Franco-Guadeloupean origin Marie-José Gustave interweaves paper threads to give substance to works where we can trace her family lineage. A series of shapes that evoke the sea and that make up the fabric of its mixed existence, to be discovered in the traveling exhibition De fil et de papier, which will stop at Saint-Laurent next September.

A unique construction houses Marie-José Gustave’s studio in the garden of her Longueuil home. The roof, radically inclined towards the front, celebrates the paper dear to the artist and her partner, Gérald Parent, the architect and sculptor behind this confidential creative space. Here, she allows herself all formal explorations based on a thread with precious qualities, that is to say, both flexible and rigid, when worked on purpose. Shaping the material according to her desires while welcoming with consideration the work that is offered to her.

White creations, like the foam that lines the water on Caribbean beaches, have just been hung on the wooden walls. They have just returned from Quebec City, where Marie-José presented them at the Centre Materia as part of the exhibition De fil et de papier, which has been traveling across the country since the fall and will have its epilogue at the Musée des métiers d’art du Québec (MUMAQ) in Saint-Laurent, from September 4 to October 27. The artisan invited eight other women from Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia to join her for this project, which highlights a paper that underpins an engaging artistic approach and cultural message.

The story of this Quebecer from France is as complex as the works she creates with infinite patience in the calm of her workshop, one stitch at a time. Born in Paris to Guadeloupean parents, she trained in clothing production there, then she moved to Quebec, discovered on her honeymoon, where the vagaries of life led her to follow the path dictated by her instinct. : working with paper and cardboard initially, to design utilitarian and decorative objects.

“These textile practices were part of the integration process she experienced in France. These meetings allowed her to create a link with the society that welcomed her at the age of 22, in the 1960s. Transmission is important in my practice,” underlines Ms. Gustave who, in turn, works to share her know-how and its multicultural heritage with its adopted community.

The collective exhibition De fil et de papier is part of a larger and personal project entitled From one territory to another. She reveals the importance of the marine world in her family lineage. “My parents reached France by boat. At the time, when the West Indians left Guadeloupe, it was a bit of a lifeline to survive,” she says.

The sculptural installation Les Coraux was born from basketwork with a mesh punctuated by porcelain rings.

Through her ballets of graceful gestures, Marie-José Gustave cultivates a meditative approach. “The thread symbolizes flexibility. It bends, it adapts to the movement of the hands, but it keeps its intrinsic qualities. A bit like when you arrive in a new country with another culture where you have to find a way to coexist with what you are and the local customs and traditions,” explains the artist who constantly navigates between several cultures.

It was in Quebec that she chose to anchor her destiny, 25 years ago. She willingly exchanges the impressions gleaned throughout her journey with those from elsewhere and overcome by existential doubts. “All experiences of relationships with others and their differences enrich us,” says the woman who is preparing to join, at the end of the summer, an artist residency as part of the Contextile biennial in Portugal.