René 1895–1957

René was my great-uncle and the eldest child of Etienne and Aline. He left Brittany at age 15 to follow his parents, who emigrated to Tunisia. After studying agriculture, he was drafted in 1914; he wasn’t even 19 yet… He fought in the Balkans and at the Dardanelles, then took part in the Eastern Campaign, from Port Said to Beirut, traversing villages and deserts on foot or on horseback.

He would not return home until late 1919… he was only 23.

He recorded his war memories in a journal that has survived to this day. Drawing inspiration from his memories, I pay tribute to him with this quilt, whose colors represent the ever-blue sky, the sun, the sea, and the red and ochre lands he traversed.

The silhouette and ruins are created using needle painting; I incorporated fragments of his diary by making document transfers onto organza.