Evangeline is a photographic exploration of Nova Scotia, Canada,
directly inspired by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1847 epic poem about
the historic Expulsion of the Acadians. Today, the proud presence of
Acadian heritage on the shores of the Bay of Fundy is unmistakable in
Mark Marchesi's soft, pastel images of churches, Acadian flags, and
unique architecture. But the region's population is dwindling, and the
culture that struggled against the New World British influence is again
losing ground. Marchesi eloquently portrays this gradual exodus of the
Acadian people from rural Nova Scotia in haunting landscapes of empty
seaports and abandoned Victorian properties.
This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it
Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the
huntsman?
Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers,
Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands,
Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven?
Mark Marchesi received a BFA in Photography from Maine College of
Art in 1999. He was a winner of Jen Bekman Projects's popular
photography competition Hey, Hot Shot in 2007, and has been awarded
three Maine Arts Commission project grants.
