Window Gallery:
Tabbouli Rose Window
Rachel Broussard
March 25 – May 13 | 2023
Reception: April 1 | 7 – 9 pm
Tabbouli Rose Window is a photo-based installation that explores cultural memory through recent, archival, and found photographs. The installation depicts the Lebanese community of Lafayette, Louisiana through photographs of Lebanese-owned businesses of the past and present. Broussard pairs these images with a representation of a cathedral rose window composed of the ingredients of tabbouli, a salad recipe passed down by her paternal grandmother. Broussard’s family owned the Ashy Liquor store in Lafayette. In the video, For Roses (a reference to the bourbon brand “Four Roses” and the artist’s grandmother Rose Ashy), Broussard visits the ancestral liquor store slab, throws roses on the slab, and sweeps them away. This gesture imitates that of a shopkeeper and marks the passage of time. Soon, the slab will be demolished for an elevated highway. Tabbouli Rose Window serves as a memorial shrine for the Lebanese community of Lafayette and the traditions that remain.
Rachel Broussard (she/her + they/them) is a multimedia artist based on Treaty 6 Territory originally from Lafayette, Louisiana. Rachel holds a MFA Studio Art from the University of Saskatchewan. They work in Saskatoon, SK as Program Director at PAVED Arts.
