In dreamy photographs, the artist Widline Cadet tells the complex story of her family’s migration
In dreamy photographs, the artist Widline Cadet tells the complex story of her family’s migration
The Artist’s Journey
In dreamy photographs the artist Widline – At the age of four, Widline Cadet’s life was irrevocably altered when her mother embarked on a journey from Haiti to New York, seeking a better future for the family. For six years, Cadet remained behind in Thomassin, a small village in Haiti, while her father and older sister stayed with relatives. The separation was not merely physical; it carved a deep emotional divide, one that would shape her artistic vision for decades to come. When the family eventually reunited, Cadet’s understanding of her mother was incomplete, marked by the absence of photographs from her early years. The only visual clues came from her father, who carried a modest collection of images between the two locations, serving as a bridge between their worlds. These photographs revealed not only the arrival of a new sibling—a baby sister—into her mother’s life but also the fragile connection between past and present that defined their shared history.
A Living Archive
Now, nearly a decade into her practice, Cadet has transformed these fragmented memories into a multi-generational “living archive.” Her work weaves together photographs, video, sound, and sculpture to explore the intricate dance of belonging and displacement. This archive is not a static record but a dynamic exploration of how memory can be both a guide and a mystery, often elusive and malleable. “Something happened in the process of me becoming a photographer that made me really think about these images and the roles they play in our lives,” she reflected during an interview at the newly opened exhibition in Milwaukee. The show, titled “Currents 40: Widline Cadet,” is the largest presentation of her work to date, showcasing the culmination of her creative inquiry into diasporic identity.
Cadet’s multimedia pieces have always possessed a dreamlike quality, but the experience of navigating her current exhibition feels deeply personal. Walking through the expansive galleries, visitors are drawn into a narrative that mirrors the artist’s own mind, one shaped by fragments of memory and the sparse visual records of her family. “I think the show is like traversing my thoughts,” she said. “Each piece is a door to a different moment, a different emotion.” The interplay of real and imagined elements is central to her practice. While some works are rooted in factual accounts, others stretch the boundaries of recollection, inviting viewers to question what is authentic and what is constructed.
Memory as a Medium
For Cadet, the act of archiving has evolved beyond its traditional purpose. Initially, she envisioned creating a straightforward record of her family’s story, but the process became more imaginative and fluid over time. “When I started making the work, I thought broadly about creating an archive—more so in the strict sense of taking pictures for the purpose of being archived,” she explained. “But along the way, I think things got more imaginative and fluid in the ways that I’m thinking.” This shift is evident in her use of layered techniques: photographs are folded into gallery walls, videos are embedded within frames, and half-circle sculptures resemble windows, echoing the architectural motifs from her grandparents’ old photos. The result is an immersive experience where the boundaries between reality and recollection blur.
One standout piece in the exhibition is a grainy image of her mother cradling her baby sister. Cadet had never seen this photograph before, but it became a pivotal moment in her artistic process. “Even a photo of my mother holding her baby sister—something I hadn’t encountered until I began searching for images—feels like the soft edges of a dream,” she noted. The image, printed as a wall-spanning altarpiece, is flanked by rows of vibrant sculptures depicting aloe plants. Titled “I put all my hopes on you,” it captures the emotional weight of her mother’s sacrifices. “I use this image because I think it felt important as a starting point,” Cadet said. “She’s my mom’s last child; she was born in the US. Thinking about my mom in that moment, all the things she must have been going through, I wanted to have a space for that experience.”
A Shared Emotional Language
Curator Kristen Gaylord highlighted the universality of Cadet’s work, noting that its specificity resonates with broader themes of identity and memory. “She’s very deeply excavating her own archive, and there’s something about that specificity, almost paradoxically, that makes it more relatable to a lot of people,” Gaylord remarked. “The stories she tells about her family make visitors think about their own stories from their own families, and the relationships they have.” This connection is not accidental; Cadet’s art invites viewers to reflect on the gaps in their own familial histories, the moments lost to time, and the ways memory reconstructs the past.
Cadet’s work also explores the duality of presence and absence. Haiti, the homeland, is omnipresent yet almost invisible in her pieces. While only a few archival images and video clips reference the country, its spirit lingers in the vibrant florals and architectural details she finds in Los Angeles, where she relocated three years ago. “I see echoes of Haiti in the way the city’s buildings curve and the colors of its gardens,” she said. “It’s not just a place—it’s a feeling, a rhythm.” This idea extends to the fabrics she incorporates, such as a set of gingham dresses that resemble the uniforms she wore as a child. These elements, though rooted in personal history, become symbols of collective memory, bridging the gap between individual and communal experience.
The Art of Connection
Throughout her career, Cadet has been captivated by the power of images to connect people across time and space. Her photographs often feature faces turned away, figures dissolving into the luminous dark, and hues that seem to pulse with technicolor intensity. These choices are deliberate, emphasizing the impermanence of memory and the subjective nature of storytelling. “I probe both the intimacy of relationships and the tricks of memory,” she said. “Sometimes, strangers become my sisters; sometimes, friends stand in for myself.” This blending of reality and imagination underscores the fluidity of her narrative, where the past is not fixed but reimagined through the lens of the present.
At the heart of her practice is a desire to reclaim the stories that were once hidden. The absence of her mother’s photographs forced Cadet to fill the void with her own interpretations, crafting a visual language that honors both what was lost and what was found. “The process of making the archive is also about making sense of who I am,” she explained. “It’s a way to bridge the gaps between generations, to see the threads that connect us even when we can’t always remember them.” Her work, therefore, becomes a dialogue between the past and the present, a testament to the resilience of familial bonds in the face of displacement.
As the Milwaukee Art Museum’s exhibition demonstrates, Cadet’s art is not just a reflection of her own journey but a mirror for anyone who has ever grappled with the idea of home. The pieces invite viewers to wander through a landscape of memory, where the familiar becomes strange and the fragmented becomes whole. Through this exploration, she offers a poignant reminder that identity is not a single moment but a series of connections, both seen and unseen, that shape who we are. In her dreamlike photographs, the story of her family’s migration is not just told—it is felt, revisited, and reimagined.
