Cassette 6: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (1978)

**'Small Items/Big Picture',** a collection of the last works of Claudia Atieno in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal. Introduction by Zoe Tremblay, lead curator.

> *"I always wanted more out of her work, and I hope you would have wanted the same. We now know she's dead of course, so there's not much that can be done at this point. Perhaps I should leave it be. I loved her. Like a friend. Like a lover. Like a teacher. Like the sister the Society won't let me have."*
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The exhibit opened shortly after Atieno's death was confirmed to the public after her body was reportedly found. Despite the recent news, Roimata Mangakāhia still agreed to record her commentary on the exhibit.

## Mantis on Branch

Shades of lavender and green are seen in the wood of the branch, contrasting the dark greys. Despite beginning the audioguide by saying that she is not here to discuss Claudia's death or her feelings on the matter, Roimata immediately tangents into talking about her death, supposing that they all die in the end. During the final years of her life, Claudia had grown more artistically prolific, but the quality of her pieces had plummeted. The discussions between the two of them changed tone from lively to combative as Claudia became fascinated with tiny details and hidden patterns.

The parties were ever-plentiful, but outside of those gatherings nobody stayed in the house with Claudia other than Roimata, even Pavel and Cassandra. Roimata finds it likely that Claudia, rather than finding anything unique about the mantis, simply painted it because it was standing still in the garden and she was trying to keep busy.

## Rubbish #3

Painted in the impasto style, a wastepaper bin with paper in, seemingly unbound standard A4 like old files or documents. Behind the bin there is a crumpled up bit of paper. Roimata invites the listener to take a closer look and see if they can read the crumpled paper, before saying that they cannot.

## Rubbish #7

This is a painting of a banana peel on Spanish-tile flooring, which leads Roimata to believe it was painted in the kitchen. She supposes it is ironic, since Claudia was a generally tidy person, and then has nothing else to add.

## Rubbish #15

The final known painting in her 'Rubbish' collection, it depicts a wrapped stack of discarded newspapers that are recognisable as *The Western Europa Times*, London Edition, although the text isn't clear. The words "two hundred million" and "population" are visible, which places the newspaper in October 1971.

Roimata recounts that Claudia often spoke of the days before the Great Reckoning. She was only an infant when the population was decimated by new weapons in the Great War and toxic air. Although those born before the Reckoning were not actually allowed to contact their families, this was rarely punished or forced to stop in these cases. As such, Claudia sometimes recieved letters and voice recordings from her grandmother, Renee. She was not allowed to talk about their family or express any kind of familial love, she could talk about their culture, and what life was like before the Reckoning.

Roimata believes the newspaper represents the power of information, the renewal and manipulation of human life. She says that Claudia had always been excited about the New Renaissance for art in the New Society as culture was revolutionised, but comments that her 1970s work - like the 'Rubbish' collection - reflected her weariness with the movement. She has depicted hopeful news of a rising population in shades of grey. Roimata implores the listener to find some colour.

## Needlework

The only known example of needlework by Atieno, it shows a bunch of yellow carnations. Roimata believes the technique and interest was copied from her own, despite the fact that Claudia had never asked her for tips with needlepoint or made any indication that she was thinking about it. Roimata had used needlework as a passtime, since she finds painting more draining than Claudia did, and she isn't much of a reader, and Claudia had no books on the subject.

Roimata describes how diving off the cliffs at Cornwall thrilled her, and that Claudia had never cared for diving. Instead, she apparently found her thrills by challenging the rigid ideas of the Society through her art. Roimata suspects she tried to remain in contact with her sister, although she has no proof except that Vishwathi Ramadoss had once pointed out a childhood drawing of two girls talking in a garden, with Claudia in the background watching. Ramadoss had remarked that the school in the picture was not Claudia's, and her sister was clearly drawn in the forefront. When Roimata asked how Ramadoss knew Claudia's sister, she had cocked her head and smiled as if recieving a compliment.

Claudia herself was paranoid of being watched. She often welcomed people she was suspicious of, including stateswomen, officers, and agents, into the Cornwall house. This enabled her to deny accusations of sedition and slander, as long as she kept the messages in her artwork just vague enough to be dismissed and denied.

Roimata felt hurt by Claudia 'taking' needlework from her, as she seemed to be extremely skilled at it without having had any guidance or instruction other than watching Roimata work. As part of her improved technique, Claudia had dyed pieces of the thread in order to create depth of colour.

## Housefly

Flies were constant pests throughout the Cornwall house in summer, despite the fact that Claudia kept food out of every room except the parlour and kitchen and had tight seals on the windows. She would often return from a long trip to South America or Africa to find a house lined with dead flies.

This painting is of a fly sitting on top of a leather-bound copy of Alexandre Dumas' *The Count of Monte Cristo.* Considering that there is no lasting photograph or sketch of the fly and the level of detail in the painting, Roimata thinks Claudia must have been very careful not to disturb the fly, or else painted it almost entirely from memory.

## Darkened Room

An oil on canvas painting of the unoccupied guest bedroom where Roimata slept while she lived at the house. She has close emotional ties to the painting, recalling cotton sheets, persimmon throw, and fluffy pillows. Atieno tucked sheets tightly around mattresses, and it created the effect for guests of being a swaddled baby. She described her nights in Cornwall as cosy and nurturing, surrounded by sounds of the ocean, birds and crickets.

Daytime in the house could be different, as Claudia could tire of guests quickly, and Roimata sometimes found herself needing to escape from her judgement and unwelcoming demeanour. When this happened, Roimata would work somewhere out of the way, or sometimes take the boat back to the mainland and take walks through ruined neighbourhoods, where she would scavenge relics of the old world. She was sometimes struck by how similar to modern-day people the 'final generation' looked, and other times by how stiff and constraining the old families appeared in their photographs. She supposes that her findings might have made good still life paintings if she had had better foresight, but then considers that every art student since the Reckoning probably had the same thought and beat her to it. She remarks that art is often just record-keeping, letting the viewers know that apples have always looked like apples, and dogs have always looked like dogs.

The photos Roimata collected on these trips were kept in an album under her bed, which is not visible in the painting as the room is uninhabited. She says that its pristine-ness does not welcome guests, although it is ready for them, and then indicates where she propped her easel, next to the chest of drawers.

Roimata hopes that her criticism of Claudia does not cause offence to the Montreal Museum, as outside of when she was working, they had a good relationship and Claudia often brought out the "wild side" of people. Roimata always wanted more out of her work, but she loved her as a friend, lover, teacher, and as the sister that the Society had denied her. She observes that for all her talk of changing the Society with art, the Society still stood and she was dead with her most minor works hanging on a wall in Canada. As she begins to cry, Roimata apologises to the museum and Montreal.

## Guests

This painting depicts a party in the parlour of the Cornwall house. Roimata points out the third guest from the right, near the upper corner, and says that she believes that is herself. Front and centre is Pavel, and Chrisette is just behind him, both of them holding goblets of red wine that spill while they dance. Although no musicians are depicted, in real life Atieno would often have guitarists and singers perform next to the non-functional fireplace and piano, which was rarely played as it was considered too stuffy. The record player, in this painting, has been replaced by books on the shelf, and Roimata does not know what they are dancing to.

Based on rhe collective presence of Roimata, Pavel, and Chrisette, she placed this painting in March 1972, a few days before she had last seen Claudia. March 31 was the last day anybody had seen Claudia, and Roimata had been in Cornwall. In the evening, Roimata had returned from cliff diving to paint before the party and seen Claudia in the garden. Guests had started arriving, although Roimata couldn't remember the party itself, only a quiet dinner. The next day, or the day after, she had left for Paris to visit friends. Or Amsterdam, to speak at the Rijksmuseum? Pavel had reported her missing on April 16, and she didn't know why he had been at the house to do so.

Roimata says her friendship with Claudia included long absenses. When they were together, they would share mealtimes, work and leisure, often for months at a time, but when they were apart they had virtually no contact, as they both travelled a lot and neither cared for writing letters. Despite this, and the hope she has had these last years that Claudia was simply on a long break, her death seems to have created a sudden absense in her life. She believes she feels as bereft as she would if she had disappeared yesterday, and sobs.

Suddenly, still sniffling, she remembers that what she has just said can't be right - Claudia disappeared in the autumn.