Marianne and Anarchy: The Artistic Legacy of the Paris Commune in New Caledonia

The uprising known as the Paris Commune, in 1871, resulted in the deportation of several thousand insurgents to New Caledonia until global amnesty was granted in 1880. During their exile, some produced art and crafted objects inspired by their environment or past experiences, which offer a powerful insight into the Commune and its aftermath, a revolutionary attempt long perceived as "without images" (Tillier 2004). Furthermore, the Communards’ stay in New Caledonia nourished the regular (non-political) convicts’ arts and crafts, maintaining caricature, satire and hidden messages on the artefacts, long after the return of the exiled. Thus, we can still identify pieces in link with the revolutionary/anarchist discourse of the Paris Commune, although crafted as late as 1910-1920. The legacy of the Communards to the history of New Caledonia thus goes beyond their literary production, which has until now been the main focus of academic research.