[Anishinàbemowin version below]
Emily Rose Michaud
In This Place, I Am Here
There are many names for the great river that flows by L’Imagier gallery, including Kitchissippi, Kichi Siibii [1] // rivière des Outaouais, Ottawa River. Is this a reflection of its many facets? Of the people who inhabit the shorelines; the relationships that emerge from the waves, the life that grows on its banks, the wounds buried in its depths, the stories of dispossession of land and water, the countercurrents and the voices carried by the wind.
Artist Emily Rose Michaud has a curiosity for the interconnected watershed of her native Outaouais bioregion. She reflects on these natural systems in all their beauty and complexity, and how they are embedded into local history. She has spent hours immersed in the landscapes where water and land meet, and has conversed with people contemplating the essence of place. This approach has led her to create works in a diversity of forms, solo or with other artists, using various media: drawing, painting, ceramic, cyanotype, performance, living textile, audio and video. Together, these works are a cross-pollination of art, ecology and education. They open a dialogue with an ecosystem that is both natural and cultural.
On paper, clay or glass, Michaud traces the course of rivers to create a map of place and memory. She uses the cyanotype technique to work with sunlight and materials found in the landscape, revealing bluish shapes on various papers – some of which are handmade from cotton and local plants. She also sculpts the topography of waterways in clay, imprinting their contours into the earth. From this, she produces tiles with aquatic glazes and illuminated porcelain pieces. When displayed on a wall or placed on a light table, they form a map of the watershed. With ceramist Marie Drolet, she creates hexagonal tiles representing local plants, grouped according to the four seasons. The hexagonal shape is inspired by the water molecule; its repetition evokes the infinite droplets that compose the waters of our world. It is also the shape of the honeycomb, which reminds us of the symbiotic relationship between bee and plant.
From her visits to different sites throughout the seasons, Michaud creates videos and sounds that form a digital archive reflecting space and the passage of time. She interviews members of the local community to gather their memories and their views on how the region has changed. These recordings are assembled into soundscapes and videos reflecting a love for place, but also a sense of loss at the disappearance of certain landscapes. Plant matter finds its place in the gallery in the form of living tapestries grown from peas and wheat seeds. These blankets of grasses recall the life cycle of germination to decomposition; their robust root systems demonstrate the principle of interrelation.
Michaud’s reflections on belonging to the land and the embodied experience of it eases the distress we have in the face of the ongoing climate crisis. Our attachment to water and land gives us power as we confront the near constant loss and change affecting our daily lives. From this recognition, a more engaged ecological consciousness can emerge – reminding us that humans are part of a web of relationships on which our survival depends. Like the water that keeps the earth alive, our collective responsibility is to care for this precious balance.
[1] Kitchissippi in the Anishinabemowin language means “great river”, but this word does not refer to the whole river for the Algonquin people. (James Morrison and Sicani Research and Advisory Services, “Algonquin History in the Ottawa River Watershed”, in Cultural Heritage, 2005). On one side of the river in Quebec, it is known as the “rivière des Outaouais”, while on the other side in Ontario, it is the “Ottawa River”.
Note on translation
As a reminder of an action that can be taken towards change and preservation against loss of Indigenous language, land, culture and identity, a local translator from Kitigan Zibi has put these words into the Algonquin dialect. It is an effort of preservation and witnessing, just as it is about identifying loss and raising awareness of the small number of language speakers that remain.
Opening | Friday, October 27 at 6 pm
6-9pm : Opening, en présence de l’artiste et de la commissaire.
- Live music by musician Brian Sanderson
- Bites offered by the Marché de l’Outaouais
Free entrance
Artist Walk & Talk | Saturday, October 28 at 3 pm.
3-5pm : Artist walk & talk, guided by the artist and curator.
Join us for a walk and talk around L’Imagier. The artist and curator will introduce you to the local specialities.
Free entrance
Biographies
Emily Rose Michaud, Photo credit: Taimì Tovar
Emily Rose Michaud is an interdisciplinary artist and educator working at the crossroads of community organization, ecology and civic participation. Her work highlights the social importance of marginal landscapes, engages with land as a living entity, and maintains a practice in ephemeral media. Her body of work encompasses land-based art, installation, drawing, writing, performance, ceramic and intervention. She has exhibited nationally in art galleries, as well as in less formal venues and spaces. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa. She lives and works in Gatineau, Québec. emilyrosemichaud.com
Isadora Chicoine-Marinier, crédit photo Matthieu Brouillard © CCA
Isadora Chicoine-Marinier‘s path is marked by a commitment to collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches in research, exhibitions and publications projects. She pays attention to artistic practices that allow us to reflect on our ways of being in relation to the environment and the community. Her main fields of interest are contemporary art, photography, landscape architecture, social participation and ecology. Isadora holds a Bachelor in Art History from the Université du Québec à Montréal, a Specialized Diploma in Arts Management from HEC Montréal and a Master’s Degree in Art History from Concordia University. She currently works at the Canadian Centre for Architecture as Coordinator, Research and Publications. She lives and works in Montreal, Quebec.
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Emily Rose Michaud
Ondaje endanakìyàn, Nindadaniz
Mànedon inonzowin ondji Kichi Sìbì iye ijidjiwan nakàg L’Imagier mazinibìhige wàbandahiwe ogamigong, ashidj Kitchissippi, Kichi Siibii // rivière des Outaouais, Ottawa River. Mii na iyo mazinàteseg nìbina kedijiwebak? Pemàdizidjig abidjig chìgagàm, pimàdiziwin màdjìging indaje obadànwangàng, eyànike-àdisokewadj wanitowadj odakìwàn ashidj nibì, iye nìbina pimabogodeg kashibàdjiwang ashidj inwewinan tebitàgok enànimak nakàg.
Mazinàbìhigekwe Emily Rose Michaud odayàn andokenindjigewin ondji kamadoseg nìbina pimidjiwang nibìn ondjisin wendjibadj Outaouais inakàg. Omàmidonenindàn wejichigedj kiginondang nibì inàkonigewin ejikwenàdjiwang ashidj sanagak, ashidj ejikàndjiwisek màmawi wìdjigendàganag ànikeyàdjimowin. Kinwenj ogidajìkànen midonenindang ejinàgog wayabandjigàdeg àndì nibì ashidj akì nagishkàdeg, ajòdekamodj ashidj kikijigandomawadj màmawi kodageg mamidonenindamowadj kichi inenindàgwag endaniziwadj. Awaso ogìwìdokàgòn kidji kìjenindang anokìwinan anochigodj ejinàgog, nishike konima gaye kodageg , àbadjitowadj wawìyagi tibàdjimonan: mazinibihigeganan, mazinàdisigan, nàsàbihigechigan, eji-odaminononawon, ejichigàdeg, ànimitàgozichigan ashidj kejigàbichigan. Màmawi awasonon kakina àbadjitowinan àjodeyachigan ejimàda ijichigàdeg mazinibigewin, agwadjing wìyagi netawigiging ashidj kikinàmàdiwin. Kigashenànànàn ànimitàgoziwin màmawi kakina kego pemàdizimagak wìyàgigoshkon ashidj pimàdjiwon akìng.
Michaud mazinàteseg tibenindàgozidj tanakìwining ashidj kakina màmawi nagadjìwin wenapadj wendad nòdjànimenindamiwin ni-ayàmeng migish nìgàn akìng ega minobidesinong. Kidayànànàn nibì ashidj tanakìwin màgawedj kìnawind nitàwitowin kidji mìgàdameng kegad wanitòng ashidj àndjiseg tàngising kibimàdiziwinang. Wendjiseng awaso màmindinendjigegawin, kinawe odàpinegewin pikan netawigigang kekenindjigewin tànàgwad màmidonenimawadj pemàdizidjig tibenindàgozig nàsàb wawànihigewin ànikowpikinigan kìshàbwidizwin apenimòng. Nàsàb igodj nibì iye gànawenindang akì kidji ijidjiwang, ni màmawi kichi apìtenindameng kidji nàgàdawenindameng ondji apìtenindàgwad miziwekamig.
Mamidonenindada eji anikanotomagawin
Wanìkesìdà wewenind ke-odàpinigàdegiban inakàg àndjise ashidj gànawenindagog ega wanitòng anishinàbemowin, akìng, pimàdjiwowin ashidj anishinàbewineng, Kitigàn Zìbìng wendjibadj ànikànotomagedj ogì-ojibìhiyàn awasonon ikidowin Algonquin Anishinàbemowin. Mì iye kwagwedjitòwin gànawenindàgog ashidj wìndamawadj kodageg nàsàb kegat anishinàbewinang wanitòng ashidj kidji kikenenindàgog nond tachiwadj anishinàbemodjig keyàbadj endaniziwadj.
Tibàdjidisowadj
Emily Rose Michaud, Photo credit: Taimì Tovar
Emily Rose Michaud nìbina màned pekin mazinibigedj ashidj kikinàmàgewin ondamitàdj àjodeyag tanakìwin ondjising, akìng wensikàg ashidj odenaw ondamitàwin. Ondamitàwin keshawadj ijichigewin nakàg nìbinesidon pikinong ijinàgog akì pimàdizimagak iji wìndàgozi ashidj gànawenindàng nagadjich tagwak tibàdjimowin. Kakina odamitàwin ashidagindàgwad tanakìwin takobìmagag mazinibiyàn atòwadj, mazinibìhigedj, ojibìhigedj, wàbandahiwedj, asinàdisigan ashidj anishkwewedj. Kìwàbandahìwen mazinibìhigewin miziwekamig mazinibìgewin, mazinàdeg nàsàb ke-ega-apìtendagosinon endaji ashidj tawising abinàsan. Odayàn mazinahiganan ka-awi-kikinàmagozidj kichi kikinàmàdinan Concordia ijinikàdeg ashidj kichi kikinàmàdinan Ottawa ejinikaadeg. Tanakì ashidj ondamità odenaw Tenàgàdinong, Kebek. emilyrosemichaud.com
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Isadora Chicoine-Marinier, crédit photo Matthieu Brouillard © CCA
Isadora Chicoine-Marinier pimosewin kikenindagozi minwenindang màmawi ashidj nìbina pikinong nakàg andakikemindjigewin, wàbandahìwe ashidj tibàdjimowin mazinahiganan inanokìwin. Wewenind gànawàbandan mazinibihigedjig inanokìwiniwa pagidinidj kìnawind pimàdizing màmawi wedjida-pimàdiziwin ashidj tanakìwin. Maya ondamitàwin tagwan oshki mazinibìhigewin, mazinazogedj, wayabandjigàdeg nayàgwak, miziwe kodagak ashidj gànawenindawok agwadjìng ejimàgìkog. Isadora odayàn mazinahigan nakog mazinibìhigewin ànikeyadjimowin kidji kikinàmadinan Mòniyàng ashidj Gànawenindang mazinibìhigewin onzikàg HEC Mòniyàng ashidj kichi kikinamàdinan Concordia. Nòngom tash ondamità kichi ombàkonigan Canadian Center ondji Architecture ijinikàde nangadawàbadang, Andakikenindjigewin ashidj Tibàdjimonan Mazinahiganan. Abi ashidj ondamità Mòniyàng, Kebek.