Weeding

X-Files meets The Young and the Restless

On a typical autumn afternoon, Martha hosts a group of middle-aged women at her suburban home. The day takes a sudden turn when Elisabeth, an estranged friend, turns up unexpectedly—and she isn’t the only unwanted guest at the tea party.

Martha’s sister, Maureen, shows up after years of radio silence, along some painful memories and a lot of confusion. It doesn’t take long for the guest list to change again when Martha disappears after a simple trip to the backyard for herbs. Martha is the most beloved of the women–but will any of the others be able to look past their own problems long enough to search for her?

A satirical portrayal of feminine archetypes in the social landscape of the 60’s, Weeding is inspired by soap operas that use unexplained disappearances and repetitive character reanimations to liven up otherwise uneventful plot lines. As a verb, “weeding” means “to remove an inferior or unwanted component of a group or collection.” In Weeding, Geneviève Lebleu takes this definition to the extreme with a fable about social exclusion in a world where women turn against one another.

“What makes Weeding so powerful, ultimately, is that it uses body horror to address social anxieties in the best possible way.” —Broken Frontier

About the Author

Geneviève Lebleu is a multidisciplinary artist from Québec City and is currently based in Montréal. They graduated with distinction from Concordia University in Studio Arts (2016) and completed a semester at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (Israel).

Their work was featured in various events, exhibitions and festivals in Montréal (Le Vidéographe, GIV [Groupe Intervention Vidéo], Eastern Bloc, Perte de Signal, Festival SOIR, Galerie Galerie) but also abroad—in Israel and in Indiana where they attended their first artist residency in August 2017. Geneviève has been granted funding from both Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec and Canada Council for the Arts. Their work in stop motion animation was featured on national television on CBC Arts The Exhibitionist in November 2018.

They also self-publish their comics. Their first graphic novel, Weeding, was published by Conundrum Press in the Fall of 2021. Outside of their personal art practice, they collaborate with artists from the Montréal music scene, creating album cover art, flyers and music videos (“Cours toujours,” Paupière) and participating in audiovisual performances. Geneviève has also collaborated with other visual artists such as Montréal-based duo Pénélope et Chloë.

Publication Details

ISBN: 978-1-77262-048-1
102 pages, 7×10 inches black & white
trade paper
November 2021