Floreus - A Tender Experience
The Cité-des-Hospitalières is undergoing a beautiful transformation, as creators bring their art to fill the repurposed space. I’ve attended a few shows at this venue, but until Floreus, I’d yet to have the pleasure of experiencing the chapel itself.
Walking into the massive space is, as often with large chapels, humbling. The ceilings stretch to the heavens, and the soft cream walls are adorned with beautiful neoclassical sculptures at the top of each column, flourishes that compliment the floral motif of the piece I’m about to witness. To contrast the muted colors of the rest of the chapel, the interior of the dome is a colorful explosion, a beautiful mural of the Holy Family, painted by German muralist John Held.
Upon entering the space, we’re immediately met with an artist using markers to create an expansive work of flowers and vines on a large canvas, splayed over a table and onto the floor around him. This is Zachari Logan, a renowned queer Canadian artist whose work includes ceramics, large installations, poetry, and drawing. The latter being the inspiration for Sebastien Provencher’s Floreus.
In particular, Provencher was drawn to Logan’s 49 Flowers, a series created to represent the victims of the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. These very careful pieces, drawn with soft red pencil, led to an exploration of how texture and scent can awaken senses within us, and between us.
Floreus is at once a meditation, and a performance. At the outset of the piece, the organ is played by one interpreter, while five others spread throughout the chapel, on the main floor and above, begin to chant “Floreus” in beautiful harmonies that fill the space, reverberating on the vaulted ceilings. As they sing, the bodies slowly move down the stairs and toward the organ, until they’re standing close, singing as one voice as the music swells.
The production is structured into three segments. The first has us sitting on the pews in the chapel, observing Zacharie Logan drawing flowers live, while the interpreters sing their hymn. Once the music has faded, we are quietly led from the pews to the front of the chapel, where we’re sat in folding chairs surrounding the marble altar itself.
Moving an entire audience in the middle of a performance can be jarring, but the discomfort is only momentary, as the quiet intensity and focus of the performers pull us quickly back into the experience. This second stage of the production was undoubtedly the most tender and intimate, as the performers quietly moved around the space, pairing off, engaging in subtle moments of both love and eroticism, utilizing the flowers spread throughout the chapel in beautiful arrangements to express these complicated relationships.
I’m told the flowers, highlighting our relationships with each other, with nature, and our slow decay from budding beauty to death, will not be refreshed through the production’s run. Rather, they will be left to slowly wither, simultaneously making a powerful statement and reducing the ecological footprint of Floreus.
The time spent in the chapel, under the dome, surrounding the altar, seemed to slow to a stop at times, allowing us to both focus on the slow-moving tableaus, and deeply consider our relationship with our bodies, and others’. At times I felt as though I was meant to drift into myself, feeling safe in this space to explore thoughts and feelings that I wouldn’t elsewhere.
The culminating section of the piece took us outside into the garden, where we were sat in a large circle surrounding fresh cut grass. Once settled, music begins on numerous small speakers placed around us, as the performers slowly make their way to the opening. The sun slowly setting behind us created a beautiful scene as the bodies before us began to intertwine, connecting to each other with such passion, as though they were unable to let go. Finishing the piece in a distinct harmony, Provencher and his team allow us the time to step slowly out of the surreal space they’ve created.
More about the work of Sébastien Provencher can be found on his website.
