MAY 7th, 2023
In Guadeloupe, Zoé Pheron uses embroidery and iconography as meditation. Inspired by the nature and energy of her new and old home, Zoé, who left Guadeloupe as a child, returned amidst the chaos of covid and the brewing of Black Lives Matter protest to sew centipedes and mermaids into fabric. — A radical and quiet rebellion. — Shedding old layers and designing a newer, slower Caribbean life for herself in ‘gorgeous and magical’ Guadeloupe.
Hi Zoé, It’s really great to chat with you. I’ve been admiring your work for a while. Also, I’ve always loved the name, Zoé.
Zoé: Thanks, My mom chose the name. It was the name of a character in a movie and in a book by a French author and cinematographer, Marcel Pagnol. It’s actually a pretty old name, even though it’s a very trendy name now.
So, what HAS life been like for you? Have you always lived in Guadeloupe?
Zoé: I grew up in Guadeloupe until I was 11.
My father owns a restaurant here, and my mother is from mainland France; She’s a gynaecologist. When I was 11, my mom moved back to the South of France.
I came back to Guadeloupe a year ago (now 34), so living here is still very new.
Life in Guadeloupe was a radical change, and it can be complicated. Not so much for me because I make a pretty good living. But Guadeloupe is one of the poorest regions of France. There is a lot of financial inequality and racial inequality here. I see it, and I hear it every day in the conversations I have. But Guadeloupe is also a gorgeous, magical place.
I feel connected to – something greater when I’m here.
It makes sense for me to be here.
I feel connected to the issues of the island.
I feel at home.
I have never felt that way in France ever.
What convinced you to make the decision to move to Guadeloupe?
Zoé: It was a political and a spiritual decision. I read a book in 2017 that burst my bubble. It was Frantz Fanon’s ‘Black Skin, White Masks’, and it just changed my whole perspective on life, the world, myself, my family, and everything. And then, three years later, the George Floyd assassination happened.
When I saw my environment and how people around me reacted to this, I felt really uncomfortable in white spaces as a mixed-race person, so I had to leave France. I couldn’t stay there anymore.
In 2019, I spent four months in Guadeloupe, and it felt great on so many levels.
My body was happy to be here: my hair, skin, everything was better.
That must have been a fantastic feeling and discovery after everything you were experiencing…
…When did creativity come into your life?
Zoé: I think creativity has always been a part of my life – always – ever since I was a kid.
I studied drama for years in a professional school, but I have never worked as a professional artist. I’m a translator. That’s my job.
How many languages do you speak?
Zoé: Three; English, French, Spanish and I’m learning Creole right now.
You’ve always loved languages?
Zoé: Yes, I have, actually. Since I was a kid. But I’ve always been creative in some way.
I lived in Argentina for four years, three years ago, and I randomly ended up in the Art crowd because of my roommate, so I was always surrounded by visual artists.
Then I met a friend who is an embroiderer. She gave a workshop in 2019 so I went to support her. I thought it would be horrible and that I would hate it, but I loved it. I had a blast.
It was such a beautiful moment.
Three months later, we went to Brazil to meet with another embroiderer, Celina Kuschnir, and something opened up when I saw her work; I realised that embroidery was not what I thought it was. It was not necessarily super heavy and trying to be super realistic. It was not just drawing or coloring with thread.
I realised that embroidery could be something else. That you could have a lot of fun with the thread and fabric, and you could be very simple.
She was the one who made me want to express something with thread and fabric…
I started to get serious about embroidery when I felt a lot of rage and needed something to calm down.
I really started embroidering a lot when I was stuck in France because of Covid. I was with my mom, who is white, and it was the middle of the Black Lives Matter turmoil. We had a lot of arguments at that time, and I really needed something to focus on, to re-centre.
Embroidering is really like a sacred moment, like a ritual. I am meditating while doing something with my hands
“Embroidering is really like a sacred moment, like a ritual. I am meditating while doing something with my hands.”
I definitely get that feeling of meditation from the video stories of you working that you post on IG. I love the way you use IG.
I also love the simple iconography of your images. As a graphic designer, that really spoke to me.
Why do you choose the subjects that you do? The centipedes, mermaids etc.?
Zoé: The subjects aren’t really something I think about. It is part of a process that I’ve been in for the last few years.
I’ve been practising yoga for a little bit now. All of this helps me focus on who I am.
I’ve been deconstructing and shedding layers over the past few years and getting less stuck in identities.
But the mermaids, they represent something really special and strong to me and they started appearing while I was doing genealogical research on my father’s side. I was doing research on slavery too at the same time, and I started drawing them while I was reading about the middle passage.
You just came back from France. What was that like?
Zoé: Yes, I spent a month and a half in France. It was long. I was missing the island so much.
I went to Paris, and I realised that I just couldn’t take Paris anymore; it was too much. My body was screaming; I got sick, of course. I was exhausted. And yeah, it is not for me anymore, so I am really happy to be back.
Now I see the birds every day, I see caterpillars and ants and lizards and, I don’t know, it just makes me happy, really.
Caribbean life agrees with your body and mind…
Zoé: Yes, yes! That and everything here. The people around me and the conversations that I can have with random people are super interesting and life-changing sometimes.
I feel like I am meant to be here.
For now, at least.
Have you shown your work anywhere besides IG?
Zoé: No, it’s been primarily IG. I show it to my friends and my family. I met with someone about being a part of a group exhibit here but it didn’t happen. My guts were telling me no for several reasons. First of all, most of the artists showing at this place are problematic to me. I want to show my work, but I also want to do things differently. The whole gallery game, especially considering who owns most of the galleries here, is not really my cup of tea I think. I’d rather hang my pieces on some trees at the beach.
I can see that.
Thanks for chatting with us Zoé. We look forward to seeing more of your beautiful work on ig and a beach sometime soon.
Interviewer: tanya marie | Photographer: Anita Pombo | Beige tunic made by: Albert Balon
