September 26, 2024 at 6 pm.
We’re delighted to welcome the Grantham Foundation, as an extension of their exhibition A Deeper Night, for a round-table discussion entitled Cohabiting in the darkness. Moderated by Josianne Poirier (curator), it will bring together Fiona Annis (artist), Rémi Boucher (scientific coordinator and spokesperson for the Mont-Mégantic International Dark Sky Reserve) and Olivia Boudreau (artist).
Darkness is disappearing. With the advent of electric light in the 19th century and its widespread adoption in the West at the beginning of the following century, the age-old alternation between day and night was radically overturned. This recent change in history is altering the reproduction, migration and feeding habits of a large number of living organisms. In so doing, it threatens biodiversity. Sociological and aesthetic uses of artificial light all too often seem to take precedence over ecological needs for darkness.
How do we feel in the dark? Who are the beings with whom we share the space-time of night? How does this cohabitation play out in ordinary, everyday spaces? This round table will explore these questions from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Admission is free, no reservation required.
Speakers’ biographies
Fiona Annis is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the enigmatic nature of photography. Her practice is not limited to a single technology, method or subject, but draws on the fundamental elements of photography through a variety of approaches and means. Strongly committed to analog materials and processes, the artist integrates historical knowledge with a profoundly contemporary perspective. Fiona Annis has exhibited across Canada and abroad, and her work is included in the collections of the Musée de la civilisation de Québec, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the City of Ottawa and the Penumbra Foundation in New York. Her luminous work Safe Light (la lampe inactinique) has been integrated into the façade of the Guido Molinari Foundation since 2024.
Trained as a biologist and passionate about photography, Rémi Boucher has been involved in astronomy and the protection of the nocturnal environment for over 20 years. He specializes in scientific communication, measuring light pollution and developing awareness-raising tools. From his early years as a guide-animator on Mont Mégantic to his contributions to international conferences on light pollution, sharing the beauty of the starry sky and protecting the night are his main missions.
Olivia Boudreau is interested in our ability to read and experience reality. She seeks to capture the influence of our unconscious and culture on the meaning we attribute to images and events. Her films, video installations and performances offer experiences that challenge the public’s powers of perception, inviting them to go beyond the obvious. In 2009, Olivia Boudreau obtained a Master’s degree in Visual Arts from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Since then, her work has been widely exhibited, including at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery and Casino Luxembourg. Her video work L’obscurité (2018) is featured in the exhibition A Deeper Night.
Art historian, author and curator Josianne Poirier situates her work at the intersection of art and the production of space. She specializes in issues concerning artistic practices in public spaces, the nocturnal landscape and living together (including the more-than-human). In 2022, she published Montréal fantasmagorique. Ou la part d’ombre des animations lumineuses urbaines (Lux Éditeur), a critically acclaimed essay. Josianne Poirier holds a master’s degree in urban studies and a doctorate in art history. She is artistic director of the Grantham Foundation for Art and the Environment, where she curates the exhibition A Deeper Night.
Photo: Olivia Boudreau.
