PHILIPPE CARON LEFEVBRE / EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE / INSTINCT

PHILIPPE CARON LEFEBVRE
17.03 — 23.04 / 2016

Opening reception : Thursday, March 17, 2016

5 p.m.

This project is a direct reference to evolutionary concepts observed in nature. The exhibition conveys a mimetic logic inspired by the growth of plants and by animal behaviour using adaptive strategies of imitation to survive in their environment. Over time and resulting of a multitude of factors, these animals have had to adapt to changes, to the point of modifying their bodies and make-up, in order to defend themselves. The works, principally sculpture and drawing in the form of an installation, are original juxtapositions of materials and unusual surfaces which create a duality between the natural and the artificial. Located on the boundary between abstraction and representation, the works act like characters, marine coral, plants and piles of matter, giving them an ambiguous quality, part way between the alluring and the menacing. In addition, the project stands out for its narrative inspired by science fiction. This literary genre prompts viewers’ imaginations as they observe the works and think of possible alternatives for the future. This reference to science fiction also makes it possible to revisit the works by reworking notions of the dystopian society, new technology, altered psychology and extraterrestrial life. In a sense, the mise en scène transforms the space of the exhibition into a futuristic ecological system, organized in the form of a hierarchy of the works on display.

 

Photo credits : Tanya St-Pierre