Marie Claire Blais and Pascal Grandmaison

Photo: Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, avec la permission de/ courtesy of Guy L’Heureux

The Path of Enigma, 2017

HD video projection, 13 min, sound

In this video projection, the artists explore the phenomena of presence and erasure that have shaped the Expo site, focusing on the enormous displacement of matter that constituted its construction and continues incessantly to this day. The geology of Île Sainte-Hélène underwent radical transformation in order to host the futurist visions of Expo 67, forged as the islands were from construction debris from the metro and the Décarie expressway, as well as from the dredging of the St. Lawrence River to create the Seaway shipping channel. “The radical transformation of the shape of Île Sainte-Hélène, the dissolution of its former configuration and its current vacuity seemed to us to be revealing in relation to the ideals propagated during Expo 67. Its contradictory pathways that are still being reflected in our perception of progress. We took a good look at that.” (M.C. Blais and P. Grandmaison)

Marie-Claire Blais was born in Levis, Quebec, in 1974, and lives and works in Montréal. Blais studied architecture at the Université de Montréal before concentrating full-time on her visual arts practice. Her work in a range of media focuses on experiences of moving through space and the perception of those encounters in memory. Her work has been shown in exhibitions in Québec and Ontario, including at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Galerie René Blouin in Montreal, and the Diaz Contemporary in Toronto.

Pascal Grandmaison, born in 1975, lives and works in Montréal. His photo, film and video works offer poetic meditations on subjects ranging from the portraiture traditions to modernist architecture, while also demonstrating a critical awareness of the mediated nature of representation. Using an analytical perspective and a minimal aesthetic, Grandmaison has made works at varying scales. Since his first major solo survey at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2006); which toured to the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2007); Grandmaison’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain (2011); at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (2008–2009); and at the Centre culturel canadien, Paris (2012–2013), among others. His videos have been presented at Haus der Kulturen des Welt, Berlin (2012); and at the Edinburgh Art Festival, UK (2014). Grandmaison, a graduate of UQAM, was shortlisted for the 2013 Sobey Art Award.