Who Is Manuel Mathieu? – Etiket Journal
Manuel Mathieu was born in October 1986 in Port-au-Prince, Haïti. He emigrated to Montreal at the age of 19 to live with his grandmother.
In 2016, he completed his Masters in Fine Arts at Goldsmiths, University of London.
His Artistic Journey
His work explores major themes: historical violence, erasure, spiritual heritage, nature, memory, and resilience, particularly in relation to Haitian history and diasporic identity.
He crafts an abstract visual language where figurative and abstract elements blend to create emotional and vibrational experiences.
Exhibitions & Collections
His artwork has been exhibited in prestigious institutions including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto, the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, the Grand Palais in Paris, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
His works are part of public and private collections such as Hydro-Québec, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the National Gallery of Canada, the Rubell Collection, and JP Morgan.
Recent Project & Fragrance
In 2023–2024, he expanded his mediums to include video and cinema, notably with his film installation Pendulum, which was acclaimed at the International Film Festival on Art (winning the award for best short film in 2023).
In 2025, he launched his perfume brand, “Chapter 1,” featuring three unisex fragrances (Dsire, Île noire, and ECCCO) created in collaboration with perfumer Juliette Karagueuzoglou (IFF). The handcrafted ceramic bottles echo Haitian landscapes, particularly mountains (high mountain islands), and highlight the convergence between visual art, emotion, and memory.
Manuel Mathieu is an artist deeply rooted in his personal and collective history. His artistic practice ranges from abstract painting to cinema and now perfumery. With his perfumes, he offers a sensory extension of his work, where memory, form, emotion, and storytelling come together, and we are very proud to offer them at Etiket, in stores and online at Etiket.ca.