Photojournal: Ronald Mevs Paints Resistance

Ronald Mevs at L'Arsenal. Photo Lily Huynh Ronald Mevs at L'Arsenal. Photo Lily Huynh

L’Arsenal is hosting for this black history month a highly-respected artist brought from Haiti: Ronald Mevs. Discovery coincidentally, he has been invited as a highlight to showcase his words against oppression through his arts, as told by the rapper Webster.
Here some highlights of the successfully vernissage:

When interviewed, Ronald explains how he uses arts to resist: to resist ignorance, forced education, to a certain script that society imposes on us. He also uses arts to resist through history, as they tend to be either forgotten or being suppressed by charitable organizations that go into poorer countries and impose, even though with good intentions, everyone to their models.

He intends his arts to be portable, which explains why they are all drawn on thin paper rolls. This portability is useful as well when he brings his work through the islands of Haiti. Everywhere he goes, he asks people to participate in his arts.

Arts for him is a means of communication. He explained that speeches have no credibility in the media nor in society when you are not important. Arts is a way of bringing the light across social issues and allow people to break out from mass media such as television and radio.

Ronald Revs work was showcased at l’Arsenal from February 23 to February 27 as part of Black History Month in Montreal.