About the artwork
Create artwork inspire by the work of Francophone artist, Laura St. Pierre: All that You Change Changes You / Tout ce que tu touches, tu le changes on view at the MacKenzie until 11 August 2024.
In the video installation titled Spectral Garden II (2018), viewers are surrounded by haunting projections of a submerged, slowly rotating make-shift garden lit by unseen flames from above. The garden is accompanied by photographs of other “specimens” and detritus collected by The Scavenger (a character conceived and brought to life by St. Pierre) and stored in improvised vessels for human and plant life. The artist does not depict The Scavenger directly, but instead focuses on the fruits of their labour. The Scavenger is seen through the decisions made as they transform their environment—which plants they have given a place of honour; what vessels they entrust to this task—decisions weighed with a fraught past and an uncertain future in mind.
About the Artist
Saskatoon-based artist Laura St. Pierre explores her relationship with the natural environment through a multidisciplinary art practice. Her installations, sculptures, photography, and public works simulate scavenger activity within Canadian regions particularly significant to her personal history and experience. St. Pierre’s work has been exhibited in major art exhibitions such as the Alberta Biennal of Contemporary Art, the Bonavista Biennale, and Manif d’art – La biennale de Québec. St. Pierre has earned Bachelor degrees from the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta, and completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at Concordia University in Montreal. Her work is in the permanent collections of The Dunlop Gallery in Regina, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Art Gallery of Alberta.
Studio Activity
Immerse yourself in an imaginary future as you listen to a selection of soundscapes. Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine colors, shapes, and characters in your new world. In this future, what does the land look like, what does it smell like? What characters/beings live there?
Materials:
- Chalk Pencils, charcoal or conté
- Scissors
- Crayons
- Pencils and erasers
- Sharpeners
- Paper
- Markers
- Watercolors
- Headphones, speaker, or smartphone
Instructions:
- Gather your favorite drawing materials, for example crayons, markers, charcoal, pencils, erasers, etc.
- Partner with someone or ask the Gallery Facilitator to read aloud the following questions to guide your immersion into the future. Alternatively, you could ask them to write down your responses. Close your eyes and think about these questions and open your eyes once all the questions have been answered.
- Take a moment to listen to the sounds around you. Let’s be quiet for 10 seconds.
- How does this futurist world make your body feel? Does it feel light or heavy?
- Do you smell anything familiar, or is it all new?
- What do you see in this world? Can you see any trees or anything else?
- Are there any special characters? Who do you think they are?
- With your eyes now open, start drawing your impressions of this new world. You can use the paper provided or cut it into different shapes and sizes if you want.
Adaptations:
Start drawing while you listen to background sounds.
If you can’t hear sounds, visit Laura St. Pierre’s exhibition, and then come back to create your own new world inspired by what you saw. Use forms and colors to create this future world.
Things to Think About
In the future:
- What will the Earth be like?
- What will the planet require for us to take care of it?
- What will plants and humans need to survive?