New exhibition - From July 8, 2021 to October 16, 2022 - The Peninsulas - Camille Bernard-Gravel imagines an encounter between nature and machines Français
QUÉBEC CITY, July 7, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - The Peninsulas, the new exhibition in the Family Gallery at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ), is a poetic source of wonder that will charm young and old alike from July 8, 2021.
To offer visitors a new experience by proposing a poetic, immersive universe, the MNBAQ team has turned to artist Camille Bernard-Gravel, a genuine virtuoso of automated devices and nature-related kinetic works. The artist is an observer of natural phenomena who explores movement through digital technologies, proposes a circuit that abounds in discoveries, and provides a fascinating contemplative adventure geared to children.
Transform the ordinary into the extraordinary
The Peninsulas evokes water, wind, and sand. This series of works with unsuspected effects is a multisensory experience in which no effort has been spared to create magic and elements of surprise. Everything has been imagined to enable visitors to rediscover their inner child by visiting The Peninsulas.
Four fascinating spaces await visitors
"The phenomena that arouse my interest are so ordinary that they usually pass unnoticed. I like to dissect them to highlight the subtleties that underpin their existence. I hope that observers of my works will experience valuable moments of astonishment that lead them to a sort of revelation," Camille Bernard-Gravel noted.
By shaping raw materials and combining industrial, traditional craft and digital elements, the multidisciplinary artist has designed four works, Triangulation, Waves, Transillumination, and The Surge, four captivating spaces to explore in the revamped Family Gallery at the MNBAQ.
Triangulation
Triangulation, the work at the heart of the first zone in the exhibition, offers visitors the striking experience of imagining viewing the sea and beaches as the crow flies.
The installation takes the form of an embossed topographical representation comprising triangular photographs taken in the Îles–de–la–Madeleine and Nova Scotia in the summer of 2019, and silvery mylar. It proposes a fragmented perspective of an environment that evokes both a sandy beach and a turbulent sea. The images that a camera attached to a rail system overlooking the assembly of triangles captures are directly displayed on a screen. Visitors can control the movement of the camera and act as net surfers observing the Earth from afar.
Waves
Waves enables visitors to observe, analyze, and then enjoy reproducing the gentle motion of the waves with the turn of a handle.
Waves draws inspiration from the continuous movement of the ripples observed on the surface of a lake or the sea. It comprises scores of suspended assembled metal plates. The rotation of a handle activates the work, causing regular undulations with scintillating reflections. At once participatory and contemplative, there is little doubt that Waves will fascinate visitors with an analytical bent and dreamers alike.
Transillumination
Close your eyes and imagine the wind sighing through tree leaves, which is but one of the sensations to be explored in the heart of Transillumination.
The subtly highlighted metallized material in this bas-relief made up of delicate cut-outs in the shape of oak leaves immediately captures the visitors' attention. The unique work is set in motion as soon as visitors arrive, evoking the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind. Transillumination has an enveloping effect and proposes to visitors passing through an experience of movement and an exploration of sparkling effects.
The Surge
The Surge is a veritable encounter between the industrial and the organic. It recreates the elegant movement of tall wind-tossed grass.
The Surge is a kinetic sculpture comprising four elements that explores movements of the pendulum. Long stems topped by a coloured flower bud toss and turn under the impulse of electromagnets. The work's regular movements evoke the reeds scattered along the shores of watercourse and plants swaying in the wind. Visual poetry is guaranteed.
Camille Bernard-Gravel, in a nutshell
Camille Bernard-Gravel engages in multidisciplinary practice that focuses on the interrelationship between the magnificence of the natural world and human technologies. The Québec City native's sculptures, videos, and installations have been exhibited in Canada, Argentina, France, Thailand, Mexico, and the United States. She is actively involved in the Capitale-Nationale community and has participated in several residencies and international events such as Québec Digital Art in New York (2015), the Biennale internationale d'art numérique de Montréal (2016), the Symposium international d'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul (2016), and the Mois Multi de Québec (2018).
Credits
The exhibition The Peninsulas is organized by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Artist Camille Bernard-Gravel wishes to thank Caroline Béland, David Dallaire, Olivier Lepage, Xavier Simard-Lecours, La Chambre Blanche, and L'Œil de Poisson for their support in the realization of this project.
Artist
Camille BERNARD-GRAVEL
Directorship
Josée DUHAIME
Director of Mediation and Visitor Experience, MNBAQ
Management
Marie-Hélène AUDET
Head of Mediation, MNBAQ
Yasmée FAUCHER
Head of Museography, MNBAQ
Catherine GAUMOND
Head of Collections, MNBAQ
Curatorship
Delphine EGESBORG
Family Mediation Officer, MNBAQ
Scenography / Exhibition Design
Jean HAZEL
Designer, MNBAQ
Graphic Design
Marie-France GRONDIN
Designer, MNBAQ
The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a state corporation funded by the Gouvernement du Québec.
The Family Gallery: The Peninsulas
Central Pavilion
From July 8, 2021 to October 16, 2022
SOURCE Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
418 643-2150 or 1 866 220-2150 / mnbaq.org
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