Arrival
CHRISTOPHER FRANCOIS, Arrival, 2024, Super 8 film
Arrival was filmed in St. Lucia, upon our landing for what was meant to be a ten-or-so-day trip to capture the story of a pepper sauce whose origins trace back to the island. These were our first few interactions — moments where I felt compelled to grab the camera and, as best I could, disappear into the experience to capture the heart of it all. The crack of the first — honorary — Heineken. Hugs between cousins who didn’t realize they’d be landing at the same airport, at the same time. The beginning of a life-changing, emotional trip.
AYITI
My Lost Beauty Awaiting To Be Found Again
My Nou Ayiti is one of mental and physical freedom. Even more so than has been experienced in times past. The freedom to exist, create, and take up space as you deem necessary. Freedom of expression. Boundless and limitless.
Though my art does not directly speak to or reference Haitian culture/history, I find that my connection to the country, since moving away to restart life here in the United States, is that of my search for freedom. In my journey as an artist, with my preferred disciplines being visual arts, my search for beauty, whether creating or admiring, is akin to the search for freedom that my people innately possess. My distinct visual identity is a direct correspondence to what I remember seeing in Haiti during my childhood. From the saturated colors that I find solace in using while making an image, and my use of the sun as the main light source, from having experienced the richness of the sun kissing our skin and streets. Over time, through my imagery, I’ve been looking to recreate and revive a feeling that I’ve attached myself to. From seeing images that chronicled my mother, her friends’, and family’s time in the country during her early and mid-adulthood. Images shot on film, more than likely through the lenses of simple point-and-shoot cameras, using the most generic film stocks, all depicting a deeply colorful and vibrant Haiti.
Christopher François is a multidisciplinary visual artist from Palmetto, Florida, by way of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, currently based in Brooklyn, New York. François is primarily a self-taught artist and is currently the co-founder of a Brooklyn-based production company, Evocation Studio, which specializes in fashion editorials, film, and publications.