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As the first breaths of Allhallowtide drift through the New Orleans air, the Foundation Gallery invites the community to celebrate Immortelle, a group exhibition to benefit Big Class and the opening of their Haunting Supply Company. The opening reception will be held October 7th from 6 – 9pm and will include a live performance from Spiritwalker featuring Amzie Adams, Dave Gear, and friends. 25% of all proceeds will benefit Big Class and their newest venture, The Haunting Supply Company. Big Class’s mission is to cultivate and support the voices of New Orleans's young writers, ages 6-18, through creative collaborations with schools and communities. An Arts and Activism Fundraiser to benefit Big Class will be held on November 17. Further details TBA.
Across traditions, the transitory Autumnal period is held as a time to reflect on and to collect memories and sensations of the circle of life. The veil between the living and the dead is said to soften, to become a thin gossamer of sorts, highlighting the ephemeral quality of the world around us.
This exhibition explores the ways we conceptualize and visualize the process of death and the mourning that follows. The title, Immortelle, is the feminine form of immortal in French, and also refers to the practice of object based mourning traditions found in New Orleans and beyond. Immortelles were placed on grave sites, often a beaded wreath or dried flower wreath, in remembrance of the deceased, but also as a symbol of the fragility of life and our desire to immortalize those we have lost. One can find immortelles in the form of everything from Victorian funeral fashion to the plastic flower wreaths, teddy bears, and cigarettes enshrined on gravestones today.
Often rooted in the memento mori tradition, a Latin phrase meaning "remember you must die", this romanticization or personification takes form cross-culturally and is often linked to this shift, whether purely seasonal or with some spiritual element. In the words of exhibiting artist Ankeen Rose, “mourning is a gift we give ourselves - a time to hurt, process, grieve, let go.” This collection is made up of many different approaches to the subject and reflects the idea that there is no correct way to grieve.
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