Barrière (Version 1)
The first version of Barrière was made for the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec for the exhibition Le Ludique. The work consisted of thirty panels of commercial wallpaper with a hand-screened flocked pattern of white chain-link fence. Le Ludique refers to a notion of play. Barrière suggests subversive play as it makes reference to the three-metre (plus) fence that was built around the centre of Quebec City for the Summit of the Americas in the spring of 2001. Barrière was installed directly on a permanent wall of the museum and existed for the duration of the exhibition.
The work references French revolutionary wallpapers, in which decorative motifs and revolutionary symbols co-exist. The work is intended to represent a collapsing of the political and private and how barriers are used to contain and exclude those who are deemed to be threatening.
The exhibition Le Ludique was curated by Marie Fraser.
Made with the assistance of Beth Stuart and Maren Ullrich
Media: flock on paper
Dimensions: 365 cm x 13.5 m (12’ x 44’ 4 1/2”)
Photography: Patrick Altman
Barrière (Version 2) 2003
Barrière (Version 2) was made for the group exhibition Artists Against the Occupation, which was presented at MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels). In this version an existing wall in the gallery was covered with wallpaper. The chain-link pattern is reproduced in black flock.
Made with the assistance of Beth Stuart and Maren Ullrich
Media: flock on paper
Dimensions: 383.5 x 762 cm (12’ 7” x 25’)
Photography: Richard-Max Tremblay