PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Delirious Québec (Quebec City, Quebec), "Delirious Québec", 2021 The Delirious Québec collective let its imagination run wild, reproducing and combining elements from various Quebec City buildings notable for their unique volumetric proportions and strong identity. In a promenade that juxtaposes buildings from hitherto widely separated locations and time periods, the built heritage is broken 6 down to its formal features through a reversal of perspective, and variations in scale and geometric abstraction of shapes complicate our perceptions. Delirious Québec won the PASSAGES INSOLITES competition, organized in collaboration with Architecture Student Association at Université Laval. This project is made possible by the Entente de développement culturel, a funding agreement between the Québec government and the Ville de Québec.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Yann Farley (Sainte-Justine, Québec), "Station A", 2021 "Station A" is a payment station that blends into the urban landscape, with its familiar interface and pictograms, along with the tantalizing promise of giving you something for free. But all attempts to operate the machine are fraught. The instructions seem increasingly absurd until we realize the nature of the twisted trial the artist has set out for us. This electroacoustic interactive sculpture pokes fun at our ambiguous relationship with the automated equipment we now interact with everywhere we go.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Charles Fleury and the students of École secondaire Vanier (Quebec City, Quebec), Parade of Imagination 2021 This merry menagerie of hybrid people/animals/objects has been exhibited on the walls of Côte de la Potasse. The dynamic composition of the pieces on display is the result of a collective work of collage. Fragments of visual and textual elements have been cut out and reassembled by high-school artists to represent various facets of their identity. Our self-image, and the one we project onto others, come together in this collective self-portrait. This project is made possible by the Entente de développement culturel, a funding agreement between the Québec government and the Ville de Québec.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Susanna Hesselberg, (Malmö, Sweden), "When my father died it was like a whole library had burned down", 2015 Scarcely visible on the horizon, a library plunges deep into the abyss of an underground shaft. The riveting sight invites further exploration, but the wealth of knowledge and poetry we could fall into remains out of reach. The title references song lyrics by Laurie Anderson to evoke the all-consuming pain of losing a loved one. This buried library, not unlike a tomb, reflects the mourning for transmission interrupted, for knowledge now lost, irrevocably and forever. Presented in partnership with the OpenArt biennial (Örebro, Sweden). EXMURO is grateful to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Conseil des arts du Canada for its financial support.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Mark Jenkins (Washington, D.C., United States), Untitled, 2021 The city is a stage set for Mark Jenkins’s hyperrealistic characters, who adopt unusual postures and interact with the built environment in surprising ways. They pop up in the alleyways and hidden nooks and crannies of the historic Petit-Champlain neighbourhood, where they are always ready for playful hijinks. Cast at human scale, and dressed in a disarmingly realistic manner, these sculptures fool passersby, who need a double-take to see that they aren’t actually real people in alarming positions. EXMURO is pleased to present the work of Mark Jenkins in collaboration with Manif d’art – the Quebec City biennial. In 2022, the artist’s work will be presented at Le Manif d’art 10.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Pascale LeBlanc Lavigne (Quebec City, Quebec), "The Bus Shelter", 2021 A dozen robotic arms with blue cloths and spray bottles are placed inside a bus shelter, and clumsily attempt to clean the glass walls. But this lacklustre contraption seems only to make the shelter walls dirtier. At a time when the hygiene practices in a sterilized city are growing ever more intense, in the midst of a looming labour shortage, Pascale LeBlanc Lavigne has created an irreverent and ironic attempt to automate the upkeep of urban furniture. Made possible by the support of RTC.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Benoît Maubrey (Berlin, Allemagne), "ARENA", 2017 "ARENA" is a mobile, interactive, electroacoustic sculpture. It is built entirely from a mix of recycled speakers, and is open to audience participation: the public can create spontaneous performances or play music by making a phone call, connecting wirelessly, or plugging directly into the installation. This temporary installation imbues the public space with an unbridled spirit of creativity sure to inspire the entire community. Presented in partnership with the Grand Théâtre de Québec, as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Wartin Pantois (Quebec City, Quebec), "Phase I", 2021 Wartin Pantois makes an empty lot welcoming again by occupying it with a freestanding mural. "Phase 1", an eclectic group portrait, was spliced together from old photographs. Reminiscent of a tiered wedding cake, or perhaps a joyful Tower of Babel, the work is crowned with flowering plants. The layered construction stands like a lighthouse at the point of entry to the Saint-Sauveur district, a reminder of the inequalities created, then as now, by our hierarchical system of social classes. This project is made possible by the Entente de développement culturel, a funding agreement between the Québec government and the Ville de Québec.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Valérie Potvin (Quebec City, Quebec), "The Sculptor Herself", 2021A towering figure rises out of the alleyway, with the sculptor’s hammer in hand and the aspect of a heroine brandishing arms. The figure depicted in this playfully self-referential work is the sculptor herself, thereby affirming Valérie Potvin’s own status as an artist. Stoic and unshakeable on its plinth, the alabaster monument is also an homage to the strength of women and their incontestable position in public art. Made possible by the support of the Conseil des arts du Canada.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Théâtre Rude Ingénierie (Quebec City, Quebec), "Rising Waters", 2021 A mysterious village lies in the waters of Bassin Louise. Where did it come from? Was it overrun by rising waters or purpose-built in these shallows? A plume of smoke, a ringing bell – small signs of life suggest the village is still inhabited. Rising Waters is a serene tableau of what may be no more than a becalmed, tide-swept life. This artwork includes a portion of the following preexisting work: Le Clocher de la Providence, a creative production by ATSA for Fin November 2011.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
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PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Ulrika Sparre (Stockholm, Sweden), "I am the Light", 2021 Lightboxes with short poetic messages have been placed all around Quebec City, a literary circuit to be discovered during a stroll through town. These lyrical incursions in surprising locations enliven the urban landscape with charming but cryptic statements that are at once personal and evasive. Philosophical in nature, the excerpts open the door to existential contemplation and invite passersby to plunge momentarily into an introspective reverie. Presented in partnership with the OpenArt biennial (Örebro, Sweden). EXMURO is grateful to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Conseil des arts du Canada for its financial support.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
STYRELSEN FOR STÖR KONST (Stockholm, Sweden), The Anti Embassy - “The Most EqualPlace in the World”, 2021 As part of a high-level diplomatic mission, the Board for Grand Art has opened an embassy in the Port of Québec. At first glance, the small structure seems to have everything such a building might need. But closer inspection reveals that the Swedish collective has deliberately subverted institutional codes in order to denounce the inequalities of Sweden’s art world. The critical discourse of this fictitious embassy has set out to break the illusions of a country often held up as the most equal place in the world. Presented in partnership with the OpenArt biennial (Örebro, Sweden). EXMURO is grateful to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Conseil des arts du Canada for its financial support.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Collectif Tel quel (Quebec City, Quebec), "Through the Walls", 2021 A monumental weaving project framed with interconnected hoops is stretching upwards and taking over the Citadelle de Québec. Its incongruous position on a site marked by martial grandeur and stark emptiness enhances the contrast between the synthetic art objects soaring above the austere face of the stone wall. By inviting us to look closely at this playful domestic universe in the rigid context of fortifications, the Collectif Tel quel gives us a way to momentarily break free from the imaginary fortifications that keep us apart. Through the Walls won the PASSAGES INSOLITES competition, organized in collaboration with the Maison des métiers d’art de Québec. Presented in partnership with The Citadelle of Québec – Royal 22e Régiment Museum.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Sarah Thibault (Quebec City, Quebec), "Monumental Impermanence", 2021Aligned with the central entranceway of the Saint-Roch church, this sculptural arch providesa passageway to the church’s forecourt, a central gathering place for neighbourhood residents.The arch is covered with an haut relief of papier-mâché baguettes. This work combinessymbolic elements drawn from the lowly and ornate spheres, while echoing the gilded elementsof the church whose ground it occupies.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Collectif du Tropique (Quebec City, Quebec), "Last Stop", 2021"Last Stop" is a sculpture installation in an open-air museum: multiple layers in time and space coexist with composite reproductions of the commercial signage that once graced the streets of the Saint-Roch district. Recalling Las Vegas’s Neon Museum, the work invites us to take a stroll back in time through the vestiges of our restored past using archival photos. The selection pays homage to the businesses that played a crucial role in the life of the neighbourhood, weaving together a richly varied social fabric."Last Stop" won the PASSAGES INSOLITES competition, organized in collaboration with the Université Laval faculty of art.This project is made possible by the Entente de développement culturel, a funding agreement between the Québec government and the Ville de Québec.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
PASSAGES INSOLITES 8th edition: art takes over!
EXMURO arts publics
Giorgia Volpe (Quebec City, Quebec), "Suitcases", 2021These suitcases by Giorgia Volpe, set up in locations throughout the city, seem to have been left on the roadside – perhaps forgotten, or lost, or voluntarily discarded by their owners. But the suspect luggage does not contain personal belongings: they are solid blocks of cast concrete. Thus fixed in their inert, massive state, these unusable suitcases evoke the recent constraints placed on nomadic existences and human migration.
Photo credit:
Stéphane Bourgeois_EXMURO
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