J'habite au Choc (I Live in Shock) by Mimi Parent (Interpretation and Analysis)

J'habite au Choc
Source: Pinterest

I first encountered J'habite au Choc (I Live in Shock) while scrolling through Instagram one day. I was immediately struck by the piece, thinking “what an interesting painting of a haunted house.” However, it wasn’t until I read the caption and started doing my own research that I began to realize the true depth and complexity of the piece.

J'habite au Choc was created by Canadian artist Mimi Parent, one of the most important North American Surrealists. Parent is known for incorporating three dimensional materials into her art and is particularly famous for her sculptural tableaux boxes. Her art explores mythological, and folkloric subjects, as well as scenes and objects from her own imagination.

While J'habite au Choc clearly acknowledges the idea of the haunted house in Western culture, the image itself seems to be entirely the product of Parent’s own unconscious mind. It is my opinion that Surrealist art taps into the psyche in a profound way. Although Surrealist art is almost by definition mysterious and bizarre, there is usually something familiar in a Surrealist painting, something that triggers the insatiable desire to incorporate the supernatural and unearthly into something that is understandable.

In the case of J'habite au Choc, I believe that the title of the piece offers a clue to its interpretation. Normally, living in shock (the translation of the title) would be understood to be a mental state; however, in the painting, Parent portrays this state of mind as a physical house. An internal, psychological state has become physical in J'habite au Choc. The piece reminds me of a quote from the Netflix show Freud (a show I didn’t like very much, by the way):

I’m a house, it’s dark in me. My consciousness is a lonely light, a candle. Everything else is in the shade, the unconscious: Instincts, forbidden desires and memories we don’t want to see in the light. They dance around us in the darkness. They torment and poke us.

Using the fictional Freud’s metaphor, the house in J'habite au Choc represents the mind. Through the open windows and doors, it is possible for the viewer to see strange figures and objects in each room. The exact meaning of these scenes within the house is unclear; however, it seems likely that they represent the fear, pain, and memories that exist within the mind, each struggling to overcome the consciousness. A physical metal key is attached to the painting in the bottom right corner. One can presume that it is the key to the painted house but also a symbol of the conscious mind, the force that controls access to the darker rooms of the house.

A ghostly green glow surrounds the house, giving J'habite au Choc a distinctly supernatural aura. Perhaps the piece can be best and most succinctly described as a spectral portrait of the mind.