EMOTIONALLY DRAWN: ‘The people that I take pictures of are people that I have feelings for,’ says Jacinthe.

Anand Holla

Art in all its warmth and tenderness flourishes on walls, on nooks and corners, and of course, on the many canvases of Jacinthe Lamontagne-Lecomte’s cosy residence in Al Muntazah.
An artist who has effortlessly permeated into the culturescape of Doha with her unique style of photo-transfer mixed media paintings may likely inspire you, even more so for her successful late bloomer story.
“I don’t feel that I am an artist. It makes me uncomfortable. It makes me feel like I am on a pedestal,” she says, “It feels so demanding. It’s difficult to have that title next to my name.”
Born in the French province of Quebec, Canada, Jacinthe took to art only after she moved to Doha 12 years ago, when she was well into her late 30s. Barely anyone may believe that when they see her prolific array of paintings.
Adaptation to the artistic side of her came naturally even if hesitantly at first, she says. At her residence, her studio brims with her prints, clay works, art materials and works. Jacinthe looks at her unfinished canvases placed next to the walls and her eyes overrun with enthusiasm. Here, she talks about her art and everything that feeds it:
 
How did your pursuit of art begin in Qatar?
My husband Gerard, who is also a professional sailor, got a job as a pilot in Qatar Airways, and we moved here in December 2003. We began sailing here because Doha is right beside the sea and it would have been foolish not to take advantage of it. We would sail with the other members of Doha Sailing Club. But I wanted to do something else.
 
Was it the first time you fell something pull inside you towards art?
I have always loved art. I would do all the school art projects of my daughter — back in Canada and some even here — like making posters and paintings and would anxiously wait for the grades so that I know how well my work gets evaluated. I used to get good grades! But soon, they knew I was doing my daughter’s work. I did it because I loved doing it.
 
How difficult was it for you to start off here?
I started at Dar Al Founoun art studio in Souq Waqif with Sabrina Puppin-Lerch and I took clay classes and learnt acrylic painting. I just wanted to meet people and do something. There was probably something inside me that had to come to the fore. I remember being really shy. When I first went to the studio, I timidly opened the door and walked in. But Sabrina was very encouraging. I didn’t know how to create a piece of art. I pursued and the first piece I did was a pregnant lady. Soon, I began learning from my master and Iraqi artist Waleed Qaisi, at the Youth Creative Art Centre. I worked on many years there and began collaborating on projects with friends. It only helped that Qaisi is like an open book, keen to show you everything that he knows.
 
But even clay art couldn’t keep you interested for long?
In Qatar, we find mostly the red and white kinds of clay. So it becomes difficult to source variety. Besides, I knew I wanted to do something more. Sometime in 2012, I came across the works of an Italian lady and I mistook it for photo transfer. Soon, I learnt about the technique and got interested about it.
 
Tell us about the photo transfer process and how you work.
It all starts with a photograph. I take all my pictures with a simple Canon camera with basic lens. My images are always in black and white. I enlarge them to A1 or A0 and take prints. Then, I put a solution on the picture, place it on the canvas and have the image transferred. Using water, delicate strokes and a lot of patience, the paper of the picture is scrubbed off the canvas — all that is left on it is the ink and the liquid. Sometimes, I work on the canvas first and then do the transfer on it, and sometimes, vice versa. Often, I work on the enlarged print first and experiment as much as I want to, before casting it on the canvas.
 
What do you look for in a picture so as to turn it into a multi-layered piece of art?
The people that I take pictures of are people that I have feelings for. They express something to me that I would like to share with the world in my own way. Since I have to use a lot of water during transfers, it gets really messy. Once, as I was working on a photo transfer of a beautiful little girl from Kathmandu, something went wrong and there was a crack in her cheek. I was heartbroken. But I later realised that it’s interesting because it expressed something by itself. Such paintings look beautiful because I found those people beautiful when I took pictures of them — like this Nepali girl. That way, it makes it easy to make them look beautiful.
 
Why do you focus on portraits?
Portraits make me think. I would like it when people look at my work and feel exactly what I felt when I took the picture. Almost none of my “models” are smiling. When someone is smiling in the picture, you feel that the person is happy and everything is good. But when you see a still face, you have more questions in your mind — maybe that person is unhappy, has lost somebody, is sick, or is deep in thought. You are trying to read more into it.
 
Speaking of portraits, you take these pictures when you go travelling. Is travelling, therefore, an important aspect of your art? Is that why many of your works are simply titled as places?
I need to see people. I need to meet them. That’s perhaps why my pictures are nice, I guess. You feel they have something to say and are different. I have travelled a lot because my husband is a pilot. When we travel, we usually don’t wear great clothes or accessories; just old tees, a backpack, and we are ready to wander through the streets, sit on the sidewalks with the locals and chat. We don’t go to touristic places. We go to ghettos and harbours, markets and temples. In Jakarta, for instance, we went to a harbour where men were unloading flowers and cement. I was happy to talk to them though they were amazed why I was shooting them. It was incredible to have that chance to be there and meet regular people. They are the ones who can make you feel that you are travelling because they will tell you the truth. The way they look at you and the little children who are willing to pose for your camera and make funny faces… it’s wonderful.
 Between the two pursuits, is photo transfer art more personal?
Photo transfer involves people. It’s certainly more personal. It’s like I throw open my photo album and get to share it with people. It’s like I am showing a part of me to you. With clay, it’s my hands that are working. You have to express a feeling through clay, and not just be content making pots and pans. With clay, I get to express myself, like this piece of me sitting on top of the world. When I do clay, I am really inspired by African people. All my clay faces, for instance, have big lips and big noses. I don’t know why. My hands command me to do so. I can’t explain it.
 
When it comes to photo transfer paintings, what explains your fascination with Asia?
I love Asia and I love exploring it. It was because I work with Asian faces that the General Manager of InterContinental Doha The City approached me, earlier this year, to hold my Made in Asia exhibition at the Hotel’s Hwang restaurant. When I travel across Asia, the faces just draw me to them.
 
For an artist who does everything from clay art to paint, why do you need to do mixed media photo transfer paintings?
I draw really badly. I don’t like my paintings. And I can’t let the picture be by itself because I am not a photographer. It’s when the two meet with other elements such as cloth, pigments, oil colours, and charcoal that things really come together.