Nos diables rouges, nos dérives commotions (...) danse papillon

In Julien Creuzet's _Nos diables rouges, nos dérives commotions (...) danse papillon_, a masked, glistening figure adorned with mirrors emerges across the screen and never reveals itself. The protagonist is a fixture of the Martinican carnival, roaming the streets as a festive specter. Its annual appearance during Martinique's Mardi Gras opens a symbolic portal to worlds buried in the folds of history, hybridized beliefs, and exiled tales. Although resolutely local and specific, this figure has parallel resonance across other regions, such as Haiti, Brazil, and the Gulf of Guinea. Turning to Greek and Roman mythology as symbolic allies, Creuzet often engages with alternative and marginalized histories absent from dominant narratives to create new meanings. Here, he references Saint George, Perseus, and Andromeda—their significance becomes fluid, shifting matrices traversing history and the present. November's Midnight Moment is presented in partnership with the Toronto Biennial of Art, which is presenting a simultaneous presentation of _Nos diables rouges, nos dérives commotions (...) danse papillon_ in Toronto's Sankofa Square, on view September 26–December 20, 2026. The Toronto Biennial of Art is curated by Allison Glenn.