Geneviève Castrée

Geneviève Elverum ( Gosselin; April 9, 1981 – July 9, 2016), also known as Geneviève Castrée, was a Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec. An early admirer of comics, she began creating them at a young age. L'Oie de Cravan published her first book, Lait Frappé, in 2000. By 2004 she had released three more books—Die Fabrik, Roulatheque Roulatheque Nicolore and Pamplemoussi. The latter is considered her artistic breakthrough. She grew up reading Tintin comics from an early age, so much so that she eventually entered, studied for, and won a Tintin competition. From an early age, she was drawing comics influenced by artists she loved, including Hergé, Renée French, Chester Brown, Julie Doucet, and Argentinian artist Quino. Doucet in particular had a significant influence on Castrée, influencing her character design and lettering style.

When Gosselin was five, her father left her and her mother. At age fifteen, Gosselin traveled around Canada and reunited with her absentee father. Although their relationship was strained, Gosselin's father did build her a log cabin to live in. In her teens, Gosselin, without formal training, began her cartooning career, publishing minicomics and adopting the name Geneviève Castrée.

Gosselin had a troubled relationship with her mother, experiencing both a deep connection and feelings of alienation and belittlement. Her relationship with her father was less contentious but also less intimate. and Roulatheque Roulatheque Nicolore in 2001, but it was Pamplemoussi in 2004 that served as her artistic breakthrough. The release marked her first major movement to integrate her music and visual art into one cohesive practice. It was released to critical acclaim and saw her achieve international success, as well as helping her feel "unburdened" by her memories of her mother. The book was created for her daughter as a gift, although she did intend for it to be published. It centers around their relationship and Castrée's struggle with cancer, which she compares to living in a bubble. It features sparse text and is instead primarily told via an image per page.

A book of poems titled Maman Apprivoisée was released in 2018. recorded and mixed by Thomas Shields and Matt Skillings of the band Run Chico Run. The two artists provided many of the instruments and backing tracks to the album, as well as musical training and financing for the recording. The album was recorded and mixed in Victoria, British Columbia. It is lo-fi in nature, with Castrée singing in French over "childlike" instruments, such as a keyboard and recorder.

In 2009, Castrée established her own label and began releasing music under the name Ô Paon. In 2010, she released an LP, Courses, recorded at Hotel2Tango, Montreal, with Thierry Amar, and in 2015 released Fleuve, recorded with Elverum and featuring Nicholas Krgovich and Lori Goldston.

Castrée also made appearances on recordings by Mount Eerie, Thanksgiving, Karl Blau, D+ and Aidan Baker. She and Elverum helped create the What The Heck Fest. She released a total of eight albums under both names. Her characters were often expressive, being described as "fragile" and "broken", and were drawn with "wiggly" arms and "bending" legs. They met in 2003 and wed in 2004. They originally intended to move to Canada but after searching for residency decided to remain in the United States, in the town of Anacortes, Washington, where Elverum grew up. Castrée was also close friends with musician Lori Goldston and poet Joanne Kyger. French was Castrée's primary language. In June 2016, a GoFundMe account was set up by Elverum to assist with their finances.

Legacy Her widower, Phil Elverum, released three albums under his Mount Eerie project – A Crow Looked at Me, Now Only and Lost Wisdom pt. 2 – which chronicle Castrée's life and mourn her early death. Clyde Petersen was inspired by Castrée's death to release an album he had recorded while briefly house-sitting for Castrée and Elverum. Many other artists paid tribute to her. Anders Nilsen called her "one of my favorite people in the world and one of my favorite artists". Deviate (with Allison Cole), Junc Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 2006. Masques, Book Gallery Popotame, Tokyo, 2007. Geneviève Castrée : Drawings, Adam Baumgold Gallery, New York, NY, 2008. Pia-Anna Borneo Gallery, Lucerne, Switzerland, March 28 - April 5, 2009. Some Shit, THANKY, Richmond, VA, April 3–27, 2009. Hivers, Book Gallery Popotame, Tokyo, 2013. Susceptible , Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, Seattle, WA, 2013. Forest of Suicides (group show), Galeria de Muerte, Tokyo, 2013. Drawn & Quarterly 25th (group show), Galerie Martel, Paris, 2016. A Bubble, Editions de la Pasteque, Montreal, QC, 2018. This is Serious (group show), Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, 2019.

Discography

Woelv releases Pamplemoussi (as Geneviève Castrée), LP and book, L'Oie de Cravan, 2004. Gris, CD-EP/10" record, P.W. Elverum & Sun, 2006. Le niveau de la mer/Bête à Cheval, 7" record, K Records, 2007. Tout Seul Dans La Forêt En Plein Jour, Avez-vous Peur?, CD/LP and book, K Records, 2007

Woelv compilation appearances Le Béluga on Trust In Sirens: What The Heck Fest 2004, CD, Kelp Monthly, 2004. Réconciliation on Flotsam and Jetsam: What The Heck Fest 2005, CD, Kelp Monthly, 2005. Le Déserteur (Boris Vian) on Free The Bird: What The Heck Fest 2006, CD, Kelp Monthly, 2006.

Ô Paon releases a)b)c)d)e), 7" record, TAUS 001 Disques Ô Paon, 2009. Courses, CD/LP, TAUS 003 Disques Ô Paon, 2010. Quatorze/Quinze Ans, 10" record, TAUS 004 Disques Ô Paon, 2013. Fleuve, LP, TAUS 005 Disques Ô Paon, 2015.

Ô Paon compilation appearances Raffinerie on What The Heck Fest 2007, CD, Charming Tedious, 2007 Les Cerfs-Volants on The Second Marriage Compilation, CD, Marriage Records, 2007. Le Retour on No Band Is An Island, CD, Knw-Yr-Own, 2008. Nunavik on Songs For The Arctic Ocean, digital, Beat is Murder Records, 2009. Certitude (D+) on What The Heck?, CD, Knw-Yr-Own, 2009. Films Americains on Yeti Ten, CD and magazine, Yeti, 2010. Evolution (alternative version) on Resume vol. 2, digital, 7 e.p., 2011.

Collaborations and appearances Welcome Nowhere by Thanksgiving, LP, P.W. Elverum & Sun, 2004. No Flashlight by Mount Eerie, CD/LP, P.W. Elverum & Sun, 2005. The Watery Graves of Portland and/et Geneviève with The Watery Graves of Portland, CD/LP, Marriage Records, 2007. Mount Eerie Pts. 6 & 7 by Mount Eerie, 10" record and book, P.W. Elverum & Sun, 2007. Karl & Geneviève, with Karl Blau, 7" record, TAUS 002, Disques Ô Paon, 2011. Clear Moon by Mount Eerie, LP, P.W. Elverum & Sun, 2012. Already Drowning by Aidan Baker, CD/LP, Gizeh Records, 2013. Sauna by Mount Eerie, LP, P.W. Elverum & Sun, 2015.