Sara Hébert publishes an amazing book with Bijou de suburbs

Known for her satirical collages, Sara Hébert reappropriates the codes of women’s magazines to break with sexist culture. In his book The Jewel of the Suburbs, he gives some advice on love, life choices and work.

Sara Hébert’s studio in Montreal has all the joyous cacophony of a flea market. Libraries are piled high with hundreds of old women’s magazines. Near the computer, essays on feminist theories sit alongside retro guides on propriety and the art of living. On the tables, cut pictures and words are waiting to find a place in one of the numerous projects of the artist-collegiate. In the heart of this mess, in torn jeans and a T-shirt with the image of Tintin, a young author is waiting for me.

“I have been collecting archives for 10 years. I find them in thrift stores, but I also have an uncle who runs garage sales and estate sales. He was the one who found most of my collection Life, my favorite magazines. »

Sara Hébert’s passion for collage has followed her since childhood. “When I was a teenager, I liked to pack cards for my pen pals,” she says. Then I started creating very elaborate notes, cut from newspapers, for my colleagues at CISM radio. [NDLR : radio étudiante de l’Université de Montréal]. Friends quickly encouraged her to design her own zines, small booklets that she self-published and sold at craft fairs.

Since then, her works have taken on a feminist and engaged trend. On his Instagram page (@bijoudebanlieue), the contributor humorously deals with climate change, the housing crisis and the legendary outbursts of sociologist Mathieu Bock-Côté.

His last born, suburban gem, is his most ambitious project. In this no-nonsense guide to wanting, Sara Hébert improvises as the first associate life coach in Quebec. She reappropriates the codes of women’s magazines and personal development manuals to offer advice to her colleagues. The book alternates passages from the diary – in which Madame Bijou, the author’s alter ego, recounts her personal experiences – with collages composed of images and advertising messages taken from old publications. The collages are in the form of satirical advice about love, work and life choices.

“As a woman, everything I consume conditions me to think that I need a boyfriend and a family to flourish. I know it’s wrong. However, as soon as I am free, I eagerly seek love. In my book, I try to make fun of my own clichés that I represent and find ways to free myself from those thoughts. »

With Madame Bijou, the artist thus tackles the issues of an entire generation of heterosexual women, including the tyranny of appearance, the myth of Prince Charming, sexist work culture and the lies surrounding motherhood. “I don’t care at all about the absurdity of life coaches. However, Madame Bijou is a bit of the kind of friend I would like to be to myself. What would I want someone to say to me when I thought I was ugly, when I didn’t dare ask for a raise, when I was dating the wrong guy? »

a suburban gem is a humorous and empathetic book, which does not take itself seriously, but which we like to have around when we need a little shake.

suburban gem, Sara Hébert, sheet merchant, 352 p.