When Raindrops Whisper and Moonlight Screams in Silence
Morel Doucet solo exhibition at the African American Cultural Center
Miami, FL, 2018
Momo was the biggest star in my orbit during my time in the MIA. A platonic, close relationship with a brother 24 years younger. We hung out regularly going to events and openings or working on projects in his studio ( I learned I suck at pouring molds or running a kiln ). In the MIA art scene he was a big deal and somehow mastered being a known unknown. No one knew where Momo lived or much about his personal life and family. It was months before I even knew he had 2 younger brothers ( I would hear them in the background yelling at their video games ) or met his mom at one of his openings. Our birthdays are a day apart in late June - team Afro-crabs of the moon.
There was one time when we were at Ace Hardware in Little Haiti buying supplies. He got an alert that one of his brothers had charged a stone cold $6k on his Barclays credit card.
Momo was the biggest star in my orbit during my time in the MIA. A platonic, close relationship with a brother 24 years younger. We hung out regularly going to events and openings or working on projects in his studio ( I learned I suck at pouring molds or running a kiln ). In the MIA art scene he was a big deal and somehow mastered being a known unknown. No one knew where Momo lived or much about his personal life and family. It was months before I even knew he had 2 younger brothers ( I would hear them in the background yelling at their video games ) or met his mom at one of his openings. Our birthdays are a day apart in late June - team Afro-crabs of the moon.
There was one time when we were at Ace Hardware in Little Haiti buying supplies. He got an alert that one of his brothers had charged a stone cold $6k on his Barclays credit card.
' Barclays?' I asked in my Miami kiki voice. ' That's a white credit card. That's Park Avenue.'
He laughed and showed me the alert. I was shocked. Say whaaat?! Oh hell no! Momo chuckled, but was cool, eerie ninja assassin cool. I sensed that his brother was in for a reckoning. That was how I learned Momo does not play when he’s upset. Alrighty then.
He never told me about that squabble and I never asked. His brother did eventually pay him back.
He never told me about that squabble and I never asked. His brother did eventually pay him back.
Momo became my guide through the city. I learned more about its history, the geography of the reef, the impact of climate change and rising sea level on the region, its fauna and flora. He pointed out the moringa plant, a wild medicinal weed that you can eat or drink as a tea.
One of my favorite excursions was to Key Biscayne, a lush atoll on Biscayne Bay with views of the city. You can go right up and into the sea from any point. Another beautiful place was the Botanical Gardens in Pinecrest; an otherworldly paradise. I sat enchanted watching two swans floating in a pond. Swans! It was like a tropical Versailles. We took another excursion to Deerfield Estates in Palmetto Bay.
Deerfield is a massive place with 400 acres of land and mangroves taken from the Seminole people and settled by a Floridian big wig in 1900. There’s a furnished mansion and detached carriage houses with found objects from the early 20th century. It is a hauntingly beautiful place, frozen in time, by the sea.
What was interesting about Momo is that he vibes like an older man from a different time. He’s a square. He never went through a bad boy phase growing up. He thought American boys were lost, wylin out, and rude to their parents. Momo will wear a tweed jacket, slacks, and a pressed shirt neatly tucked in with a leather belt. I called that his Haitian Professor look. When he’s casual he’d wear white linen pants, a cobalt blue shirt, and Cole Haan shoes, as though he was ready for a dinner party at Montego Bay. This is casual to you?
Outside of the gallery, I looked like a bum next to Momo: jeans and a t-shirt. Surfer shorts and a t-shirt. Kick-it cargo pants and a Guayabera ( I dressed, more or less, like a Cuban on the playa ). I lived in flip flops and espadrilles because Miami is a hot house until winter. I was also as the kids say, unbothered, by the hyper-feminine Latin mystique around me. Lovely, but that's Shakira and JLo, not me.
‘ Do you ever dress up? ‘ Momo asked.
‘ Rarely.’ I said. ‘ I’m more on the androgynous side aesthetically. Low key chic in the shadows.’
‘But you’re so pretty.’ He said.
‘ Ou se dous. Mesi. (You are sweet. Thank you.), but that has nothing to do with my personality or style.‘
Momo has the work ethic of a Haitian. He never gives up and he never quits. Another rarity, being of his generation, is that he never makes an excuse. ‘ Me, nah.’ he said. ‘ I’m going down with the ship!’ He would too.
I’ve been in the loop with his big exhibitions, projects, re-organizing his studio at the Bakehouse art complex, and buying his first house. He would check in with me on decorating ideas:
‘ Are you going for casual Liberace or luxury Liberace?' I asked jokingly. ‘ Wait. Do you know who Liberace is?’
I clown because Momo has very contemporary Caribbean taste, whereas I’m scavenging cheap and chic left and right like a mid-century junkyard diva.
When I speak in kreyol, Momo responds in English. Haitians tend to speak kreyol to other Haitians, everyone else they tolerate, although they appreciate one’s effort. He’s cool because he understands that I want to improve my sound and syntax. There aren’t many rules to kreyol; it’s entirely phonetic and without verb conjugation. Although it’s Momo’s first language, he still gets tripped up with English grammatical structure.
text: ‘ Check it out! I got a new leather black couch for the studio. ‘
Pause. Text: ‘ Leather black? The adjective goes before the noun in English, cheri. Anglish! ‘
Momo gets me with his stories. He’s a vivid storyteller, sharing myths and legends he learned growing up and others he wrote between high school and college.
One night we were coming from an opening at Hampton House. In 1964 segregated Miami, Hampton House was where Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Sam Cooke stayed during Ali’s bout with Sonny Liston. There’s a famous image of Ali standing over Liston, like a gladiator, after landing his ‘phantom punch'.
After the opening, Momo drove me home to Little River where I lived. It was raining and dark. Parts of Miami become deserted after hours. The stillness is both sinister and beautiful, particularly in Haitian neighborhoods. No one is out, everyone is in.
‘Oh, Haitians don’t play with the dark.’ He said. ‘Things, bad things happen in the dark. When you’re in the countryside in Haiti and you see fireflies at night out in the fields, they look like the eyes of people. The way it is now with the rain and darkness, reminds me of Lugawu, a witch. She only comes out at night. She wandering, very upset, looking for her love. She thinks someone took him.’
What was interesting about Momo is that he vibes like an older man from a different time. He’s a square. He never went through a bad boy phase growing up. He thought American boys were lost, wylin out, and rude to their parents. Momo will wear a tweed jacket, slacks, and a pressed shirt neatly tucked in with a leather belt. I called that his Haitian Professor look. When he’s casual he’d wear white linen pants, a cobalt blue shirt, and Cole Haan shoes, as though he was ready for a dinner party at Montego Bay. This is casual to you?
Outside of the gallery, I looked like a bum next to Momo: jeans and a t-shirt. Surfer shorts and a t-shirt. Kick-it cargo pants and a Guayabera ( I dressed, more or less, like a Cuban on the playa ). I lived in flip flops and espadrilles because Miami is a hot house until winter. I was also as the kids say, unbothered, by the hyper-feminine Latin mystique around me. Lovely, but that's Shakira and JLo, not me.
‘ Do you ever dress up? ‘ Momo asked.
‘ Rarely.’ I said. ‘ I’m more on the androgynous side aesthetically. Low key chic in the shadows.’
‘But you’re so pretty.’ He said.
‘ Ou se dous. Mesi. (You are sweet. Thank you.), but that has nothing to do with my personality or style.‘
Momo has the work ethic of a Haitian. He never gives up and he never quits. Another rarity, being of his generation, is that he never makes an excuse. ‘ Me, nah.’ he said. ‘ I’m going down with the ship!’ He would too.
I’ve been in the loop with his big exhibitions, projects, re-organizing his studio at the Bakehouse art complex, and buying his first house. He would check in with me on decorating ideas:
‘ Are you going for casual Liberace or luxury Liberace?' I asked jokingly. ‘ Wait. Do you know who Liberace is?’
I clown because Momo has very contemporary Caribbean taste, whereas I’m scavenging cheap and chic left and right like a mid-century junkyard diva.
When I speak in kreyol, Momo responds in English. Haitians tend to speak kreyol to other Haitians, everyone else they tolerate, although they appreciate one’s effort. He’s cool because he understands that I want to improve my sound and syntax. There aren’t many rules to kreyol; it’s entirely phonetic and without verb conjugation. Although it’s Momo’s first language, he still gets tripped up with English grammatical structure.
text: ‘ Check it out! I got a new leather black couch for the studio. ‘
Pause. Text: ‘ Leather black? The adjective goes before the noun in English, cheri. Anglish! ‘
Momo gets me with his stories. He’s a vivid storyteller, sharing myths and legends he learned growing up and others he wrote between high school and college.
One night we were coming from an opening at Hampton House. In 1964 segregated Miami, Hampton House was where Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Sam Cooke stayed during Ali’s bout with Sonny Liston. There’s a famous image of Ali standing over Liston, like a gladiator, after landing his ‘phantom punch'.
After the opening, Momo drove me home to Little River where I lived. It was raining and dark. Parts of Miami become deserted after hours. The stillness is both sinister and beautiful, particularly in Haitian neighborhoods. No one is out, everyone is in.
‘Oh, Haitians don’t play with the dark.’ He said. ‘Things, bad things happen in the dark. When you’re in the countryside in Haiti and you see fireflies at night out in the fields, they look like the eyes of people. The way it is now with the rain and darkness, reminds me of Lugawu, a witch. She only comes out at night. She wandering, very upset, looking for her love. She thinks someone took him.’
Haitian myths tend to be romantic and gothic. Love and death or scary monsters.
I listened intently as we were coming up NW 2nd ave. We spotted a young pregnant sister walking barefoot and alone in the rain.
‘ Gade sa! Lugawu! ‘ (Look at that! Lugawu!)
‘Alright.’ I said ‘ That’s it. You’re freaking me out right now. I’m cool with the Haitian witch. Pa bon. Pa fe sa! ‘ (No good! Don’t do that!)
Momo laughed.
I was so spooked that I made him wait in his car at the house until I was inside the gate and locked the door.
Momo likes to cruise around town while listening to kompa or trap rap, the former being popular in the south. I don’t care much for trap because it goes super hard with the raunchy. Most songs are about cash money, heaux pimpin dick or dick pimpin heaux. I'm too old and too Mary Poppins punk for all that. Momo likes the City Girls, who remind him of Trina. Issa Rae is also a fan.
‘ Who are they?’ I asked.
‘ Hood girls from Opa-Locka and Liberty City. You need to mix a little ratchet with the bougie in Miami. Diversify! ‘
I cracked up, but he had a point. Miami is a kind of duality.
I listened intently as we were coming up NW 2nd ave. We spotted a young pregnant sister walking barefoot and alone in the rain.
‘ Gade sa! Lugawu! ‘ (Look at that! Lugawu!)
‘Alright.’ I said ‘ That’s it. You’re freaking me out right now. I’m cool with the Haitian witch. Pa bon. Pa fe sa! ‘ (No good! Don’t do that!)
Momo laughed.
I was so spooked that I made him wait in his car at the house until I was inside the gate and locked the door.
Momo likes to cruise around town while listening to kompa or trap rap, the former being popular in the south. I don’t care much for trap because it goes super hard with the raunchy. Most songs are about cash money, heaux pimpin dick or dick pimpin heaux. I'm too old and too Mary Poppins punk for all that. Momo likes the City Girls, who remind him of Trina. Issa Rae is also a fan.
‘ Who are they?’ I asked.
‘ Hood girls from Opa-Locka and Liberty City. You need to mix a little ratchet with the bougie in Miami. Diversify! ‘
I cracked up, but he had a point. Miami is a kind of duality.
City Girls, directed by Missy Elliot
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