Exhibition
Opening
Curator
l'espace d'une durée is a collective exhibition and curatorial collaboration bringing together artists Loïc Chauvin, Charlotte Ghomeshi, Clara Lacasse and Claude Labrèche-Lemay. Both anchored in an aesthetic and philosophical reflection around time and its sensible experience, the exhibition unfolds in photographic, sculptural, videographic and performative forms.
The title of the exhibition evokes the idea of an embodied time, subjectively perceived or emotionally apprehended, defying the linear chronology of clock time. It echoes the inner rhythm of a figured space. Through an approach imbued with sensitivity, time is treated and conceptualized by the artists as a hyperobject, that is to say an entity too vast to be entirely grasped, and whose manifestations reveal themselves in a distinct and isolated manner.
From long time to the present moment, the artists confront different temporal scales: the lifespan of a tree, genesis and geological movements, the anachronistic reconstruction of a prehistoric era or the emotional complexity of an intimate drama. Central to the poetic experience, this back-and-forth play testifies to the richness of human existence faced with a phenomenon that determines and profoundly surpasses it.
Acknowledgments
Loïc Chauvin wishes to thank Clara Lacasse, Allison Higgins and Renaud Lafrenière for their precious help. He also thanks Kelly Jazvac, Lorna Bauer and Juan Ortiz-Apuy for their critical support. The creation of the work rollout was made possible thanks to the granting of the first emerging artist grant from the Quebec Arts and Letters Council.
Charlotte Ghomeshi expresses her gratitude towards Zoé Raymond and Brice Heude-Alarie for their collaboration. She also wishes to thank Rémi Martel, Martin Schop and William Daviau for their contribution to the production of the works.
Claude Labrèche-Lemay thanks Charles-Édouard Boukaré, François Morelli, Bonnie Baxter, Michel Beaudry, Alanna Kraaijeveld, Marilou Drapeau and Shawn Inder for their help during the development of this project. The creation of the works was made possible thanks to the support of the Quebec Arts and Letters Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Clara Lacasse wishes to thank the Plein sud team, the Post-Image Lab at Concordia University, Martin Schop, as well as the Quebec Arts and Letters Council.
Biography
Loïc Chauvin
Fascinated and frightened by the way humans intervene in nature, playing the sorcerer's apprentice, Loïc Chauvin brings contradictory feelings to coexist within his projects which, in their concise aspect, can take the form of sculptures, photographs and interventions. In this sense, his projects are conceived as oxymorons, a poetic device that consists of juxtaposing two contrary elements. The artist materializes his idea by associating it with material reality, that is to say by involving people and things, climate, living beings, seasons, territory. The artist dedicates himself to one project at a time, adapting to the specific needs of each. His final works create tension between the simplicity of the initial idea and the complications of its realization. In a deadpan spirit, they are accessible, paradoxical, funny, serious, poetic, absurd.
Loïc Chauvin is a multidisciplinary artist living in Montreal. A graduate of Concordia University in photography (2019), he is currently pursuing a master's degree in sculpture and ceramics (2022-2025) thanks to the support of the Concordia Merit Scholarship. His projects have been presented in various group exhibitions, notably at the Caravansérail artist center in Rimouski (2022), at the fifth edition of ARTCH in Montreal (2022) and at the Alte Handelschule in Leipzig, Germany (2020). He has participated in creation residencies at Pilotenkueche in Leipzig, Germany (2019) and at Atelier Silex in Trois-Rivières (2023). His work has received support from the Quebec Arts and Letters Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Charlotte Ghomeshi
Using photography and video, Charlotte Ghomeshi draws from her memories and those of her loved ones in order to weave narratives that raise several existential questions. The artist's projects interweave themes that touch the intimate sphere, such as family relationships, but also the broader relationships that humans maintain with nature and death. In a therapeutic way, the artist's approach is guided by her intuition and the emotions that inhabit her. Generally taking the aspect of staged scenes, her work is often presented in triptych form, where poetic associations are established between her various images and the themes mentioned previously. More recently, her research focuses on an identity quest linked to her Iranian, Quebec and Italian family origins.
Charlotte Ghomeshi is a visual artist who lives and works between Montreal and Saint-Sauveur in Quebec. She holds a bachelor's degree in photography from Concordia University. Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions – Caravansérail and Parc Offsite in collaboration with Projet commun – and in various group exhibitions – Galerie VAV, Centre Skol, FOFA gallery, Centre Sagamie and ARTCH. She has also completed artist residencies at Centre Sagamie (Alma) and Casa Lü (Mexico). Charlotte is also the founder and curator of the Tabloïde project, a public art initiative that advocates for accessibility to art by presenting photographic works in urban space. Her work has received support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Claude Labrèche-Lemay
Claude Labrèche-Lemay's artistic practice is rooted in image and develops through an interdisciplinary material approach. Articulated in the form of photographic, videographic and sculptural installations, her current projects unfold along two axes of creation. The first, weaving links between geology and anatomy, is interested in time scales and contrasts at the intersection of different temporalities. The second is a visual analysis and exploration of language and its modes of functioning, motivated by a research for understanding the flaws found in communication and translation processes.
Claude Labrèche-Lemay holds a bachelor's degree in fine arts with a major in photography from Concordia University (2019). Her work has been presented in various group exhibitions, at Galerie FOFA (Montreal), Galleri Monitor (Göteborg, Sweden) and Gallery 44 (Toronto) as part of Proof 26. Since 2019, she has been an interpreter and collaborator with choreographer Laura Jeffery in contemporary dance. In 2021, she participated in a research-creation residency on the North Shore with PANACHE art actuel (Sept-Îles) with whom she will have her first solo exhibition in 2024. Her practice has been supported by the Quebec Arts and Letters Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Clara Lacasse
Clara Lacasse draws inspiration from the modes of construction of narratives related to History, nature, sciences and collective imagination. Through work focused on the photographic image, she supports a critical reflection on representations generated by visual culture and on the image as an instrument of knowledge and power. Her projects are often the result of collaborations with scientific, medical, legal or cultural organizations. Through these partnerships, she testifies to the complex dialogue between science and culture and questions the truths that are specific to them.
Clara Lacasse holds a bachelor's degree in fine arts with a major in photography from Concordia University (2018). She is one of the recipients of the New Generation of Photographers award (2022) awarded by the National Gallery of Canada and Scotia Bank. Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions at VU Photo (Quebec) and DRAC (Drummondville), as well as in group exhibitions at the National Gallery (Ottawa), Arsenal (Toronto) and Centre Skol (Montreal). Her work has received support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Quebec Arts and Letters Council.