Passing by the gallery, one glances at what seems like a naked person leaning against the window; a shoulder, cheeks, a hand, two surfaces that could be parts of a back and arm appear vaguely. Yet, the body is dislocated and most of it disappears in blurry depths. Vu que… proposes an elliptic view of a body, allowing the inscription of narratives on its invisible parts. The fragments that are pressed against the glassed surface act as clues for storylines the passers-by are invited to recreate through precise cultural references. The reading of the work is anchored in a widely spread cinematographic imagery: the pervasive shower scene, whether torrid or terrifying, in which — violent, death, sexual — impulsion are condensed at the surface of the skin. In Vu que…, the body thus acts as a surface on which both the self and the other are projected.

 

Léa Jeanmougin is a Franco-Canadian artist living in Montréal. She holds a bachelor degree of Concordia University in Film Production and her short film Sybille won the Technicolor award. This film was screened in many festivals such as ArtCity Festival (Calgary) and the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois (Montréal) where it received the jury’s special mention. Recently, her practice has shifted towards visual arts and looks at the possible encounters between medium and narrative. Using cinema as well as body casts, her works allow to physically and emotionally experiment the other’s body, whether it is fictive, artificial or real. Her work Exsto will be presented at Art Souterrain as part of the Nuit Blanche à Montréal.

Window Projects  

Participating Artists: Léa Jeanmougin
Curator(s):
Credits: Image : Léa Jeanmougin, 2010