Residencies for Creation and Exploration
VIDA SIMON
20 to 26 JULY
Crédit photo: Derek Olive
Le tonnerre gronde et je jette un œil aux spécimens posés sur les lames de verre pour voir s'ils vont s'envoler. Nous sommes dans le royaume de la fragilité. Je prends conscience que tout – moi y compris – perd de la poussière, de la peau ou des particules. Des géants qui ne remarquent pas nos traces.
Au cours de ma première résidence, j’ai travaillé à la microscopie en plein air, en dessinant à partir de spécimens collectés, et j’ai choisi de ne pas les étiqueter, afin de m’orienter vers un langage plus abstrait et sensoriel. Par ailleurs, lors de ma visite au Parc régional de Val-David, j’ai été saisie par les pierres erratiques : la façon dont leur échelle crée étonnamment une atmosphère de mystère et d'intimité, nous obligeant à changer de parcours, à déambuler. J’ai hâte de poursuivre mon exploration de l’incarnation micro/macro, en oscillant entre le dessin, la gravure, les gestes performatifs et la vidéo.
“S’enforester ᓭᒪᓇᕐᑐᒦᑦᑐᖅ” is a residency and exhibition project that invites artists to develop a body of work rooted in a direct experience of the forest, viewed as a living, complex, and interdependent environment. Inspired by an old French verb meaning “to enter the forest,” the project uses this term to describe a process of immersion, mindfulness, and connection to the land. The Inuktitut word ᓭᒪᓇᕐᑐᒦᑦᑐᖅ (saimanartumiittuq), meanwhile, evokes a soothing place where one feels at balance. Together, these two terms open up a space for sensitive exploration of the connections between creation, territory, and experiences of life.
Artists are invited to ground their practice in a relationship with the territory, paying attention to the rhythms, forms of life, and dynamics that permeate it. The project offers a context conducive to slowing down, observing, and experimenting, where creation emerges from a direct and prolonged experience of the environment.
“S’enforester” welcomes artists from diverse territorial contexts, including artists from Nunavik, and brings together already rich and context-specific experiences of the territory. The encounter between these perspectives opens a space for dialogue where geographical, cultural, and sensory shifts help transform ways of perceiving, creating, and inhabiting.
The project encourages interdisciplinary practices that explore the concepts of trace, memory, and interdependence, as well as the relationships between humans and non-humans. It offers a framework for research-creation in which the territory acts as an active partner, helping to shape artistic processes and forms.
ARTISTS:
AKINASI PARTRIDGE, MARJOLAINE BOURDUA, SARA A. TREMBLAY, THOMAS WHITELEY, VIDA SIMON
Co-curators: Véronique La Perrière M, Avataq Cultural Institute, and Atelier de l’île
In partnership with the AVATAQ CULTURAL INSTITUTE, MAC LAU (Laurentian Museum of Contemporary Art), the Sagamie Centre, Atoll art actuel, the Val-David Val-Morin Regional Park, and KM42. With the financial support from the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec and the municipality of Val-David
Thank you to the CALQ and the municipality of Val-David for their financial support
