The installation From Whom Do We Rebuilt? / From Where Do We Gather Our Materials? is part of the exhibition Spillover Love curated by Mojeanne Behzadi and presented at the Stewart Hall Art Gallery, Pointe-Claire, Canada, from July 11 to August 29, 2021.
The artwork From Where Do We Gather Our Materials? is part of the permanent art collection of the City of Pointe-Claire, 2021.
Inkjet printing, acrylic paint, paint markers, fabrics, threads. Photos Credits: Alexis Bellavance and Camille Larivée.
« Born out of a curiosity about the roots of artistic impulses and the elemental need for artists and their accomplices to organize communities and networks of care around their practices, the exhibition celebrates these giant leaps towards self-actualization. How does centering freedom in artistic pursuits address the necessity to move toward liberating others and creating more just societies? This exhibition is meant as a joyful meditation on the love that binds us to keep sight on our collective pulse. » – Mojeanne Behzadi, curator of Spillover Love
This series includes two photographs and two textile installations that were created expressly for this exhibition. From Where Do We Gather Our Materials? is a photograph of a wheatpaste that depicts a tree swallow and five dragonflies, as well as butternut leaves, and which was installed in public spaces in Montreal during the summer 2021. From Whom Do We Rebuilt? is a photograph of a wheatpaste which represents a black swallow with four horse flies and butternut leaves, and which was also installed in the streets of Montreal in the summer 2021.
Imagine rebuilding what was destroyed / Imagine destroying just to rebuild is a textile installation with a painting of a bird’s nest built by the City of Pointe-Claire. The two sentences are embroidered on the fabric. The second textile installation, Imagine Shelters As Home, is a painting that represent the swallows’ natural nest and the sentence is also embroidered on the fabric.
The tree swallow and the black swallow are two endangered bird species in Quebec and many of them are living in the city of Pointe-Claire’s large parks. Over the past few years, the City of Pointe-Claire has taken steps to protect several endangered birds that live in the parks, including swallows. The city has therefore built and installed several bird nests to support the reproduction and protection of these birds. From Where Do We Gather Our Materials?/ From Whom Do We Rebuilt? explores issues of environmental protection, gentrification, and sanctuaries. This work honours the flora and fauna of Pointe-Claire, while questioning the consequences of the natural habitats’ cycle of destruction in large urban centres and imagining what the environment would look like under an apocalyptic and eclectic nature.
Camille Larivée 