Les parfums de nos insoumises tendresses unfolds with two meanings: both intimate and resolutely committed. It examines the fate of traditionally feminine skills, while questioning the status of women in our contemporary society. Through a series of five perfumers, the work explores the links between bodily memory and the reappropriation of identity.

At the heart of this proposal stands La Hase, a neo-mythological figure who is half woman, half hare. She embodies a living manifesto: the affirmation of a free and unique body, emancipation from imposed norms, and the reconquest of the self as an autonomous territory. A rebellious archetype, La Hase draws her essence from powerful and often marginalised female figures: Medusa, Morrigan, Lady Godiva, Atalanta, Lilith.

The choice of perfume as a symbol is not insignificant. It evokes the intangible, the invisible, the sensory: what we smell but cannot see. It can be powerful or delicate, captivating or disturbing, just like women’s bodies and the narratives imposed upon them. These perfumes assert, question and unsettle.

In a context where feminism seems to be faltering, this work becomes both a cry and an embrace. It expresses concern about the erosion of fundamental rights, the persistent control of women’s bodies and body image still subject to social norms and intrusive gazes.

The work also draws on ancient skills practised and passed down by women, such as porcelain painting and porcelain flower making. Once considered noble, these arts have been relegated to the status of domestic hobbies, often disparaged by artistic institutions. By reintegrating them into a contemporary approach, the work asserts their aesthetic and symbolic value and pays tribute to the women who have preserved them despite prejudice.

Women’s expertise

I am deeply moved and fascinated by the skills and knowledge passed down by women throughout the ages. History shows that, almost without exception, knowledge associated with women has been rejected and devalued. Often relegated to the domestic sphere or considered insignificant, this knowledge has been shunned, denigrated and rarely taught in formal institutions. This marginalisation has resulted in the slow erosion of these practices, which are now disappearing through attrition, at risk of dying out completely.

Porcelain painting

Among these skills, porcelain painting occupies a special place. Heir to a centuries-old tradition, it was long considered a noble and refined art, practised by virtuoso craftsmen in China since the Tang dynasty, then in Europe from the 17th century onwards, notably in Meissen, Sèvres and Limoges. In Japan, the Kutani and Arita schools also elevated this art to the rank of masterpiece. However, in the West, from the 19th century onwards, porcelain painting was gradually relegated to the status of a feminine pastime, practised in bourgeois salons or domestic circles. This appropriation by women, far from conferring greater recognition on the art form, paradoxically contributed to its marginalisation: artistic institutions then perceived it as a decorative pastime, unworthy of the canons of major art.

The manufacture of porcelain flowers

The manufacture of porcelain flowers reached its peak during the Baroque and Rococo periods. From the 1730s onwards, in Meissen, the great European manufacturers competed with each other in ingenuity to create extremely delicate floral compositions, imitating nature with impressive precision. These ornaments, often made by women working in the shadows of the workshops, were prized in royal courts and found their way into cabinets of curiosities. However, with the advent of Neoclassicism, these fantasies were deemed excessive, frivolous, and inconsistent with the new austerity. This skill, which was a source of income and expression for many women, was gradually abandoned and fell into disuse. Today, it is threatened with extinction due to a lack of transmission and recognition.

In Quebec, neither porcelain painting nor porcelain flower making ever really caught on with the general public, particularly among women. In the 19th century, when these practices appeared in European bourgeois homes as a domestic pastime for women, the socio-economic context of French Canadians was quite different: the majority lived in precarious conditions, with limited access to education, and worked long hours in factories. Women, often responsible for large families, had little time and even less space for leisure activities or artistic expression.

However, certain religious congregations, such as the Congregation of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and the Congregation of Notre Dame, played a discreet but essential role in passing on these skills. Taught to their students, who often came from bourgeois backgrounds, these arts were then preserved through the generations. If we still find traces of these practices in Quebec today, it is undoubtedly thanks to these women, educators, craftswomen and keepers of memory who were able to preserve and pass on these delicate skills despite social and cultural obstacles.

My interest in porcelain painting and porcelain flower making is part of a contemporary rehabilitation process. It is not just a question of preserving a technique, but of a reclaiming memory, re-establishing these practices in the field of legitimate art, and paying tribute to the women who, despite prejudice and silence, have kept them alive. By revisiting these skills with a modern sensibility, I wish to give them back their voice, their splendour and their dignity, and to participate in a revaluation of gestures, materials and narratives that have been invisible for too long.

The theme of the perfumer

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the world of perfumery forged close ties with the decorative arts: Guerlain with Pochet du Courval glassworks, François Coty with René Lalique, Elsa Schiaparelli with Salvador Dalí, to create bottles that became works of art.

As a child, I was fascinated by my mother’s perfume, Oscar de la Renta. This iconic fragrance from the 1980s took a central place on her bedroom dresser. Its faceted glass bottle caught the light and made the golden liquid sparkle. The cap, shaped like a stylised flower, added a touch of grace to this object that I found simply magnificent. It was not just a container, it was a work of art that I associated with goldsmithing.

Very early on, this interest turned into fascination. These delicate vials, often miniature, populated my imagination and nourished my artistic practice. In my eyes, they transcend their utilitarian function, preserving, highlighting and telling a story. If perfume is the essence, invisible and volatile, the bottle becomes its body, its materiality, its visual language. This reversal of priorities has always struck me: we celebrate the container, when what should matter is what it contains.

The perfumer naturally leads me to draw a parallel with Women. What they reveal and what they truly are. In our societies, appearance is scrutinised, judged, magnified, sometimes fetishised. Inner qualities, on the other hand, remain silent and hidden. The perfumer thus becomes a metaphor: that of the female body carrying a precious essence, often ignored in favour of external glamour.

In my practice, the perfumer becomes a formal and conceptual playground. It provides me with a medium for asking questions that I consider fundamental. In my work, it is a vehicle for meaning, a tool of resistance, a tribute to what cannot be seen but nevertheless persists. I can subvert its codes, reinvent its contours, imagine what I would enclose within it. It becomes a vehicle for demands, poetry, questions. It allows me to interrogate the relationships between interior and exterior, visible and invisible, precious and trivial.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Judith Dubord is originally from Montreal. She has lived and worked in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli since 2006. A ceramist, she focuses her practice on the design and production of fine craft objects. In parallel with her productionch, she pursues various research and creative projects on ornamentation and material blending, creating works of expression. She graduated from Cégep Limoilou with a diploma in Fine Craft Techniques, specialising in ceramics (2016), and subsequently completed a short postgraduate programme in Artistic Practice Studies at the University of Quebec in Rimouski (2018). She has conducted research and creation residencies, notably at the European Institute of Ceramic Arts in Alsace and the Maison des Métiers d’Art de Québec. Since 2019, she has been an instructor in ceramics at the Maison des Métiers d’Art de Québec. Judith Dubord is a member of the META Céramique collective.

ARTISTIC APPROACH

Clay and its passage through fire is a fundamental material in my practice. It allows me to explore the concept of the container, a hollow form intended to be filled. I am particularly interested in utilitarian objects, their function and their symbolism in everyday life.

My work as a ceramist involves batch production, but I treat each piece as if it were unique. For me, surfaces are places for formal exploration, intertwined with a poetic and playful quest in which metaphor and mythology play a central role. I am particularly drawn to ancient ornamental techniques traditionally practised and passed down by women. I aspire to bring them up to date.

My aesthetic approach is maximalist, whimsical and playful. Bright colours and references to ancient motifs are omnipresent in my way of working with surfaces. I explore the concept of collage, incorporating decals, screen prints and gestural explorations. I constantly visit the fine line between daintiness and chaos.

Fenêtre sur rue is an initiative of Centre Materia offering graduates of the DEC – Fine Craft Techniques programme, in all disciplines, the opportunity to display unique or serial pieces in its showcase space located on Charest Boulevard E.