Lafayette-based photographer Kristie Cornell has participated in the Faquetaique Courir de Mardis since 2009. This year, she captured the tradition in a series of analogue photos.
By Kristie Cornell
In 1997, I attended and photographed my first Courir de Mardi Gras, which was the Tee Mamou/Iota women’s run. In the years following, I continued on and off to follow and photograph various courirs, including those in Soileau, Elton, Jennings and Eunice, but always as a spectator. In 2009, I participated in the Faquetaique Courir de Mardi Gras, carrying my camera and capturing images from the perspective of a participant rather than that of a bystander.
Over the years, my personal photography had been a mix of film and digital, but for speed and ease I always opted to carry my digital camera when photographing at Faquetaique. By 2020, I had grown tired of digital images and had fully transitioned back into analog photography. So, in 2023, I decided to try to shoot the courir on film with my medium format Hasselblad 500c. This is no easy task–carrying a heavy camera while walking all day, and framing images on the ground glass while wearing a mask. But I love every minute of it.
I have continued to run Faquetaique every year since 2009, always photographing with the intention of documenting my friends and the ridiculousness that happens during the course of a Mardi Gras day. In capturing these images each year, I hope to preserve the memory of the day for all of us who actively participate in upholding our culture and traditions.
Kristie Cornell is a self-taught photographer living and working in Lafayette, Louisiana. Her work explores her relationship to the natural and cultural landscapes of her native Louisiana and the South, as well as connections made to places she explores while traveling. Her photographs have been published in several books and as album artwork, and her work has been shown at many galleries across Louisiana. Additional work can be found at www.kristiecornell.com, or on Instagram at @kccornell.