Drawings by Michel Daigneault and by Stephen Schofield on texts written by Yves Navarre

DRAWINGS BY MICHEL DAIGNEAULT AND
BY STEPHEN SCHOFIELD ON TEXTS
WRITTEN BY YVES NAVARRE

Claude Gosselin in front of artworks from Michel Daigneault. Photo: Guy L’Heureux

This exhibition features drawings by Michel Daigneault and by Stephen Schofield, two artists with an ongoing practice of drawing and a keen interest in the writings of Yves Navarre, which they read some years ago and recently revisited.

Yves Navarre is an important author of French literature whose books tell the story of the homosexual condition of life under different lights. The author received the Prix Goncourt 1980 for his novel “Le jardin d’acclimatation” summarized in Wikipedia as follows: Henri Prouillan, former minister of Charles de Gaulle and widower in his seventies, celebrates with his sister and three of his four children the fortieth birthday of the son who does not participate in the celebrations: Bertrand. Bertrand leads a withdrawn and haggard existence in Moncrabeau, the Prouillan family home, under the surveillance of the estate’s guards. And this, since his father Henri Prouillan, who refused and condemned the homosexuality of his son, forced him to undergo a lobotomy.

Claude Gosselin, Jacques Prince & Stephen Schofield. In the drawer, archives of Yves Navarre. Photo: Guy L’Heureux

Yves Navarre lived in Montreal in 1989 – 1990. He actively participated in the cultural life of the city by publishing and being a literary critic for the newspaper Le Devoir. An avid admirer of visual artists, he attended on several occasions the annual event Les Cent Jours d’art contemporain de Montréal founded and directed by Claude Gosselin and his partner Pierre Pilotte, the current coordinator of the Archives gaies du Québec. They met Yves Navarre with whom they developed a certain friendship.

Today, Yves Navarre’s presence in Montreal is permanently preserved in two funds dedicated to him, one at the Archives nationales du Québec and the other at the Archives gaies du Québec. In both cases, it was Jacques Prince, archivist and co-founding president of the Archives gaies du Québec, who made it possible for us to include these fonds in the archives.

The unusual meeting of these individuals gave rise to the idea of recalling the work and commitment of Yves Navarre. The idea thus became clear to the current directors of the Quebec Gay Archives.

Partial view of the exhibition Photo: Guy L’Heureux

Claude Gosselin was asked to select artists to create works that would reflect their appreciation of Yves Navarre’s writings as an author and as an active witness to the condition of homosexuals. Following a visit to the Yves Navarre funds at the Archives nationales du Québec on Viger Street in Montreal, artists Schofield and Daigneault travelled to France in June 2022 to meet with members of the association Les Amis d’Yves Navarre and to consult the Yves Navarre archives in the city of Montpellier. This exhibition visually interprets the Navarre texts and artifacts they read, saw and documented.

It is the result of a collaboration between Les Amis d’Yves Navarre in France and the Archives gaies du Québec, made possible by initial funding from the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la francophonie du Québec, with the support of the Consulat général de France à Québec, LOJIQ-Les Offices jeunesse internationales du Québec, School of the arts, media, performance & design of York University, McBride-Contemporary Gallery, Fugues, Cinémas Beaubien, du Parc, du Musée, and partners who support the regular activities of the Quebec Gay Archives: The Foundation of Greater Montreal, Desjardins the Caisse du Quartier-Latin de Montréal, and the donors of the Archives gaies du Québec.

The exhibition is presented at the Archives gaies du Québec,
201 A – 1000 Atateken Street, Montreal,
from March 18 to May 14, 2023, Tuesday to Sunday, 1 to 5 pm.

Free admission.

This exhibition is part of the 40th-anniversary events of the
Archives gaies du Québec