Les , Verlaine. Courtesy of the artist. Although he was raised in Fort Worth, Laster has lived in France since , primarily in the disenfranchised banlieue of La Courneuve, a fifteen-minute train ride north of Paris. Castle Rock was a bit of a homecoming. When we got to the ranch he gave me a quick tour of the house and grounds, which years of poor upkeep and a recent flood had thoroughly integrated.
Then we decided to take a walk. Laster pulled on knee-high snake boots and handed me a pair. There had been a lot of rain, and rattlesnakes would be out. The boots were two sizes too small. This interview took place while I was taking my chances.
_-_2022-07-30_-_1.jpg/1200px-Rue_Christino_Garcia_-_La_Courneuve_(FR93)_-_2022-07-30_-_1.jpg "Sluts La Courneuve")
Hunter Braithwaite When did you become interested in the relationship between art and the environment, be it built or natural? My parents gave me my own section of the yard to garden. ML Yes, where we lived when I was a little kid was more residential, but my parents moved out to the country, and all of my aunts and uncles had farms and ranches that were farther out.
Do you consider yourself a French artist? ML Bicultural and multicultural identities are concepts that recur in my life and work. This is a concept that is very complex in France, as it seems that integration is often confused with assimilation. This is especially true in the context of the banlieues. Many of the participants with whom I work are Algerian-French or Malian-French, but that does not compute in French culture.
I am American-French, both in culture and as an artist. This has been at the center of my artistic practice for twenty years. Ironically, it questions more the future of a culture, or a person, than its past. I look for creative methods of moving away from multicultural relationships and toward intercultural dynamics.
