By deciding to sporadically hide a mosaic representing a native kneeling in front of Samuel de Champlain, exhibited at city hall and which he considered offensive, Mayor Bruno Marchand himself caused a storm in a glass of water.
• Also read: The Marchand administration chooses to hide a work in the presence of First Nations
• Also read: Masked “offensive” mosaic: a decision taken by Mayor Bruno Marchand
Created in 1950 by the artist Walter Del Mistro, the work in question has been installed in the reception room for almost ten years. It has never been the subject of any complaint, including from the First Nations.
Bruno Marchand says he acted with the kindness required by living together, in prevention. We can believe him when he claims to have acted in good faith.
That being said, by making this decision without even having consulted the First Nations, the Marchand administration acted precisely by doing what it criticizes about the work, namely its colonialist aspect.
Certainly, the Huron-Wendat Grand Chief of Wendake, Pierre Picard, welcomed the intention, as the mayor pointed out.
But Mr. Marchand still placed himself in a position where he chose to think for these people, making choices believing that they were good for them. Before the questions from my colleague, Stéphanie Martin, who had noticed that a black screen sometimes masked the work, he had never thought to inquire about their point of view.
Delete the story
Then, Bruno Marchand decided to act without explaining his action, and without having sought to obtain more information on the meaning of the scene illustrated in the Mosaic.
-There is something annoying in this mania for wanting to rewrite or even erase history without taking into account the context and the time, which Mr. Marchand defended himself yesterday.
Of course, the colonizers’ ways of dealing with indigenous peoples were unacceptable. But they existed and it is also our duty not to forget them.
Then, does the intended image indeed represent a gesture of submission, or rather a blessing or even a gesture as part of a ceremony? We should have checked before acting, and not waited until The Journal asks questions.
Installing a sign interpreting the scene would have been a good solution. It is now being considered.
Lame comparison
The mayor also said yesterday that it was better to find a middle ground solution instead of rushing things. He referred to the famous Cube dismantled at Place de Paris, under the previous administration.
Mr. Marchand, however, compares apples and oranges. The Cubeoffered to Quebec by the City of Paris in 1987, had to be dismantled for safety reasons, because marble slabs risked coming loose due to water infiltration.
In the case of the Quebec City Hall mosaic, there is no security issue.
