Carnival Mamou is my present work in progress. It is a collection consisting of both oil paintings and pastel depictions of a somewhat clandestine Mardi Gras celebration with which most of America is not familiar. This is the Cajun version of the holiday that was adopted long ago in small rural towns like Mamou, LA and is still celebrated today.

    Very early in the morning on Mardi Gras day, the men of the town dress in elaborate, colorful handmade costumes that generally include masks and tall pointy hats. Nearly 100 of them ride on horseback, lead by The Captain and trailed by a parade of crude floats built atop tractor trailers and pick-up trucks. The procession travels from house to house and at each stop a cajun band plays and the paraders dance and celebrate before the chicken chase begins. At that point a cage of live chickens is released and the men (usually quite intoxicated) go bounding and stumbling through the swampy brush trying to catch them. The idea is to collect (or beg) at each stop, ingredients for their gumbo and by afternoon they reach the town center where the feasting and revelry ensues.

This year, instead of staying in New Orleans for it's infamous Mardi Gras festivities, some friends and I spent the day in Mamou and followed the parade. It was a dazzling spectacle and a fascinating cultural experience.