Pieces I Find Interesting

As I made my way through the Sensualité exhibition for the first time, three pieces immediately caught my eye. Each completely different in subject, format, and medium, they all struck me in their unique relationship to the exhibition’s guiding theme.

Louise Carrier’s Joie de la mer chez les Yamanas

Louise Carrier’s Joie de la mer chez les Yamanas first stood out to me in how it seemed so unrelated to the concept of sensuality. The acrylic-on-wood image depicts three simply-drawn figures dancing around a boat. Their slim bodies contort joyfully, seemingly suspended in space against a beigy-grey background. These innocent movements appear contradictory to sensuality at first, with many of us associating the concept with more adult themes. But what is sensuality if not engagement of the physical senses? And Joie de la mer makes you want to reach out and touch. Carrier’s layers of acrylic create bumps and grooves that you want to feel under your fingertips. The dancing figures appear to be carvings that have been filled in with dark paint, and indentations run in vertical lines beneath visible brushtrokes. These methods create a tangibility, even a sensuality, about the piece, a result of Carrier’s unique medium and complex vision.

 Valentine Alma’s Persephone

        Valentine Alma’s Persephone is perhaps the most obvious in its alignment with the themes on hand. The still life sits enshrined by fairy lights in the gallery’s front window, an instant draw into the exhibition. The image depicts a pomegranate blown up to monumental proportions, with sparkling seeds spilling from a frontal slice. Depictions of fruit in art have long been associated with women’s bodies, and this connection to sensuality may be tempting to take at face value, but it's really the smaller details that make this piece so striking. Alma seeks to represent plants as complex, vulnerable, and as worthy of life as humans are. Each pomegranate seed is rendered gently, made up of a multitude of reds, pinks, and whites, all surrounded by a brilliant chartreuse background. Rather than a frame, the piece is crowned by a lush embroidered ribbon, images of flowers running along the sides. It is these aspects that bring such joy in viewing the piece, and the senses are delighted to experience it.

Alexi Dauphi’s Using Protection

        Finally, Alexi Dauphi’s Using Protection stands completely unique in the exhibition. A mixed media masterpiece, this work is almost hard to describe. A gold frame surrounds the piece, its inlay set with what appear to be tiny leaves and other specks of organic matter. Inside this frame lies a flipped over canvas, demonstrating how the fabric stretches over wood. This canvas has been studded by medal spikes on its edges, guarding it from any who wish to do harm. A gemstone center draws you in but has been spiked as well, holding you at arm’s reach. Stretched over the canvas to the point of breaking is a pair of underwear, which is made even more brittle by the layer of paint it is covered in. This gives the distinct sense that even as a barrier, this layer of clothing would do very little to protect its wearer. The piece itself acts as its own protection, as the tongue-in-cheek title may suggest. It turns sensuality on its head, as it coaxes you in while simultaneously pushing you away.

        Available at www.EmergenceMTL.com.