Monday, March 1, 2021

Eve Provost Chartrand on Ageing and Ageism

Old hag. Over the hill. Battle-axe. Old biddy.  She’s such a Karen! So many creative ways to insult an older woman. Who knew crows’ feet and saggy tits could cause so much disdain. Seriously, why are we so scared of getting old? It’s strange because “vintage” is so trendy, I guess just not vintage humans. Why is it that older women are seen through such a negative lens?  I had the pleasure of listening to Eve Provost Chartrand discuss her work recently. Centred around themes of ageing, ageism, death, regeneration and the metaphysical connections we make to objects and the departed; she explores the mental burden these negative social constructs place on women over a certain age and how those negativities invade the physical body. As there are many different approaches to ageing globally, Eve has chosen to look specifically at middle aged white women in North America.  Inspired by the tragedy of witnessing her parents suffer from degenerative diseases in the final years of their lives, and the loss of agency they experienced, her sculptures and assemblages act as a tangible re-establishment of emotional bonds, and portray the eternal perpetuation of life. 

 
Conservo. The Father – The Daughter – The Mother (Installation view) 2017, Eve Provost Chartrand.


In her piece titled Conservo, she states, “I wanted to create family portraits of both my parents and me and found objects that most effectively represented and recalled my mother’s and father’s late health struggles, hence the bed pan and the urinal, as well as my own frays with the degenerative state of my own ageing body, ergo the pie safe and reversed spinal cord.” (EveProvostChartrand, 2021) Here she uses clinical, sterile objects as the central theme of each piece, yet they become more of a plinth for the decorative adornments that surround. The collection of curiosities instead becomes the focus of interest. As in life, it is not our final moments that define us but the culmination of memories and experiences.  

Is There Any Body Home? Specimen #2: Dentures (+ detailed view). 2018, Eve Provost Chartrand


The Saprotrophic Body (detail). 2019, Eve Provost Chartrand


Mushroom cultures in the studio. 2020, Eve Provost Chartrand

Is There Any Body Home? Specimen #1: A Brooch (detail). 2018, Eve Provost Chartrand


Icons of Absence: The Body as a Memorial Site (detail). 2021, Eve Provost Chartrand

The delicate undulating floral like curves of the fungi and elaborate rococo adornments of The Saprotrophic body are in direct juxtaposition with the grotesque Specimen # 2. Its deep cavernous shape rimmed with human teeth and filled with beads in similar shade to that of oral tissues is akin to that of a horror film. She complements her pieces by writing poetry and taking bacterial samples from the objects. This layering of her concept expands the channels of comprehension for the viewer, giving a well-rounded view, thus opening a window into the deeply personal connection she has to her work.  Her words conjure up visions of tenderness and childlike innocence. As a result, the repulsion softens and is transformed into an affinity for the owner of the objects.

 The bacteria growth in the petri dish come with surprising results, the samples taken live, grow, and reproduce. Despite potentially having existed without any use for years, they still contain living organisms, potentially organisms from the previous owner. They contain a living essence, that essence is both tangible and made visible through the growth within the petri dish, but even more intriguing is the intangible, enigmatic sense of soul that is connected to the item. We relate bacteria to the realm of living, and somehow once the items cease to be used, it would seem any connection to the living stops, illogical I know, but so often we are guilty of unconsciously seeing life in finalities. Eve’s work challenges those habits of compartmentalising.

A study in feminist Gerontology found that older women are culturally devalued, and older women’s bodies are judged harshly for showing signs of age. (Garner, 1999) In a world where Botox and plastic surgery have become commonplace, many live in fear of aging and losing their aesthetic appeal. Eve’s work shows the beauty and worthiness in all stages of the evolutionary process of life, that there is no definitive end and every living organism makes a contribution.

Eve Provost Chartrand https://www.eveprovostchartrand.com/ [Accessed 18/2/2021]

Garner, J.D. (1999) ‘Feminism and Feminist Gerontology’ in Journal of Women & Aging, v. 11, n. 02, pp.3-12.

Sabik, Natalie J. (2013) ‘Ageism and Body Esteem: Associations With Psychological Well-Being Among Late Middle-Aged African American and European American Women’ in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, v. 70, no. 2, March 2015, pp. 189–199. 



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