Prairie des Femmes : Bayou des Femmes

Monday, April 14, 2014

Bayou des Femmes

A while back my friend Jo Vidrine, who works with the Bayou Vermilion District keeping the bayou clean, tagged a photograph on his Instagram account (@youwillknowwhen) with the tag #bayoudeshommes (Bayou of the Men). The photo was of a bunch of dead red crawfish heads floating in the bayou. I thought the name was an awesome comparison to Prairie des Femmes (Prairie of the Women). Bayou des Hommes recalled for me the work that Jo V and John Oliver literally did in the brown and dark canals of the Bayou Vermilion, but also of the darker, more metaphorical things that we as mankind have done to the bayou.

Check out www.bayoudeshommes.blogspot.com

Recently Jo and I decided to join forces and mix names to create an art show called Bayou des Femmes. It was held April 12, 2014 at Astra Modern Market in downtown Lafayette. We showed photographs of both of our realms, Jo's parents Mr. John and Mrs. Jane Vidrine played music, Reve Coffee Roasters made a special Bayou des Femmes blend and The Loving Cup did a pop-up coffee bar. We had beer, nests, glow in the dark Mary statues, and a lot of fun. It was a great success and I am so glad Jo and I decided to get together and have a show because the themes of our sites worked perfectly together.

Here is the audio of an interview we did with Judith at KRVS about the show:

http://krvs.org/post/apres-midi-april-7-joint-exhibit-astra-modern-market-gallery-art-walk-sat-april-12.

Bayou des Femmes is a collaborative art show of the work of Bayou des Hommes and Prairie des Femmes, blogs run by two young French-speaking Louisianians. Born in juxtaposition out of deep love of place and also as an outlet from the reality of daily life in modern south Louisiana, Bayou des Femmes is an exploration of the timelessness of our homeland, and a reflection of the relationship between nature and culture, prairie and bayou, homme et femme.