About
Overview
This is a multimodal essay project on the life of Gaëtane Buttigieg, an artist and acupuncturist who was forcibly institutionalized in 1971. This project combines video, photography, and writing to try to examine the pathologization and erasure of queer experiences, the ways that privilege can protect or harm a person, and what happens when family narratives come into conflict with one another. This essay traces Gaëtane’s childhood in France, her tumultuous school years and the challenges of coming out as a teenager in the late 60’s, and the injuries that she sustained in her institutionalization.
This is an imperfect account; I cannot pretend to know all the parts of this story, which happened long before I was born and is now obscured by trauma and fading memories. But if anything can be remedied from Gaëtane’s experience, it is by sharing her story.
Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the generous support of the Center for Digital Inquiry and Learning (CDIL), who provided me with the resources and the ongoing support to piece together this narrative into its digital form.
My thanks to Matthew Leingang for his support in filming these interviews.
And of course, my sincere thanks to Gaëtane, who welcomed me into her home and trusted me with her story. Family narratives are always ongoing and evolving, and it means everything to me that I am surrounded by family who value one another’s stories, no matter how difficult.
Credits
Project Director and Writer: Alicia Gladman (MFA, English ‘24)
Design and Development: Devin Becker (Co-Director of CDIL)
Videography: Matthew Leingang
Illustration: Corey Oglesby
Cover Page and Header Images:
The photograph used for the Chestnut Lodge header is by Jacqueline Quinn LaRocca. More information on Jacqueline and her art can be found on her website.
Illustrations for the homepage and the Mas Lombard and Mas St. Pierre sections are by poet, musician and artist, Corey Oglesby:
The header image for the Moscow section is a digitally altered version of this postcard.
Funding
This project was funded by the University of Idaho Library through the CDIL’s Graduate Student Fellowship program.