BIRD REQUIEM (original french title Le requiem des oiseaux) is a series of three assemblages combining stopped clocks and watches with historical illustrations and stuffed specimens of North American birds, including a passenger pigeon (a species extinct since 1914) and an Eskimo curlew (no specimen has been seen since 1963). The project borrows a traditional style of presentation from history museums to raise public awareness of the current issue of species loss.
Acknowledgment: This project is carried out with support from the territorial partnership program of the Conseil des Arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ). It was assembled thanks to the generous expertise and loans of specimens from the Musée de la nature et des sciences de Sherbrooke (MNS2) to the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke (MBAS). Finally, BIRD REQUIEM is possible thanks to donations of more than 200 broken watches from relatives, friends and acquaintances.
Press
Marie-Soleil Provençal’s Nature-focused powerful art: Interview
Douglas Nadler
The Record — December 6, 2024
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Les musées en région font place au féminisme et à l’écologie
Amélie Revert
Le Devoir — November 16, 2024
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Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke | L'écologie du paysage
(series of videos about the group exhibition)
La Fabrique culturelle, Télé-Québec — 13 novembre, 2024
Watch one of the video
Les arts à la rescousse de la fragilité des paysages
Delphine Belzile
La Tribune — September 29, 2024
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Douglas Nadler
The Record — December 6, 2024
Read the article
Les musées en région font place au féminisme et à l’écologie
Amélie Revert
Le Devoir — November 16, 2024
Read the article
Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke | L'écologie du paysage
(series of videos about the group exhibition)
La Fabrique culturelle, Télé-Québec — 13 novembre, 2024
Watch one of the video
Les arts à la rescousse de la fragilité des paysages
Delphine Belzile
La Tribune — September 29, 2024
Read the article
In August 2021, police in Halifax, Nova Scotia, dismantled multiple homeless encampments across the city. The police confronted a crowd of protesters and arrested numerous individuals. Like other similar events in Canada, this one left behind corpses of makeshift shelters. GHOST ENCAMPMENTS is made up of the poles of different tents, broken or abandoned. This project is a reminder of these habitations which have been the “home” of many.
During the Second World War, women produced thousands of quilts for the Canadian Red Cross. These blankets were sent to the front lines and hospitals to provide comfort to soldiers and victims. EMERGENCY QUILTS is a series of thermal blankets (designed to reflect body heat) with designs inspired by traditional quilts. Today, this project is an act of solidarity with the growing number of people living in uncertainty.
This “Rail Fence” quilt pattern is the first of a series started in Halifax, Nova Scotia (where the number of homeless people doubled in 2021), as the initial phase of a larger community project. The first prototype was offered for the auction of the local Organization Wonder’neath Art Society, which shared the profit with Shelter Nova Scotia.
Acknowledgment: The production of this project is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
AGAINST THE CURRENT (original French title Contre-courant) is a wall installation composed of sculptural pieces that echo the traditional visual language of Atlantic salmon fishing trophies. However, the specimens appear to have been removed from their wood mounting plaques, leaving only the silhouettes. These shadows of salmon collectively suggest a school of fish swimming upriver and making their way against the current. Each trophy includes a metal plate engraved with a date corresponding to a marking event in the history of salmon fishing in the region and province.
The installation has been included in an exhibition dedicated to fish and game to create a dialogue in time and space between old works from the permenant collection and works from contemporary artists. The intention was to question our historical relationship with this species as well as the future of salmon fishing.
Acknowledgment: This project is made with recycled pieces of wood from old furnitures and buildings. It is possible thanks to donations from relatives and the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke (MBAS).
Press
Exposition Chasse et pêche au Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke
Sylvie Luce Bergeron
CFLX — June 17, 2025
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Les amateurs de chasse et de pêche invités au musée
Stéphanie Belzil
Noovo — May 23, 2025
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Sylvie Luce Bergeron
CFLX — June 17, 2025
Listen to the interview
Les amateurs de chasse et de pêche invités au musée
Stéphanie Belzil
Noovo — May 23, 2025
Watch the segment
