POUR CEUX QUI NE LES VOIENT PAS / marble / 2016-2017
(For Those Who Do Not See Them)
This series of sculptures in white marble reproduces, from photo identification, the scarred spinal columns of several belugas studied by researchers in the Saint Lawrence Estuary: Aile Joyeuse, Adhothyus, Bonheur, Blanche, and Pascolio. The marble itself evokes a long-ago era, as distant as the time when anthropomorphic art first began to appear, concurrently with the development of a certain empathy on the part of humans towards the animals they hunted. These life-size sculptures reproduce the actual dimensions of the original bone structure, and also include copies that serve as smaller-scale models. This work was produced at a time when citizens were organizing to stop an oil drilling project in the belugas’ main breeding area, off the coast of Cacouna, Québec. For Those Who Do Not See Them aims to make the beluga visible to policy makers, while also transforming it into a veritable political animal, a sort of braille for the blind. This series reveals the emblematic actions of these pale humps to undermine the momentum of those who would invade their territory. The artwork is currently installed at the ferry terminal in Baie-Comeau, for the Société des Traversiers du Québec.
︎ Fiche AILE JOYEUSE
︎ Fiche ADHOTHYUS
︎ Fiche BONHEUR
︎ Fiche BLANCHE
︎ Fiche PASCOLIO
STONE SCUPTURES
View from the stone studio, works in progress: Whale pieces, 2022
REJOUER LA POUPONNIÈRE / BELUGA NURSERY (movement study)
Participative performance | 2018
The term “beluga nursery” first appeared in 2014, as one of these breeding areas in the Saint Lawrence Estuary was being threatened by oil industry activities. This feminine and maternal image called out to the hearts and minds of the population, and became associated with the struggle to help belugas survive. In this performance, Goudreau brings the nursery to life, inciting viewers to continue this important advocacy work, and to protect the endangered beluga.
︎Instructions
︎Information sheet
Participative performance | 2018
The term “beluga nursery” first appeared in 2014, as one of these breeding areas in the Saint Lawrence Estuary was being threatened by oil industry activities. This feminine and maternal image called out to the hearts and minds of the population, and became associated with the struggle to help belugas survive. In this performance, Goudreau brings the nursery to life, inciting viewers to continue this important advocacy work, and to protect the endangered beluga.
︎Instructions
︎Information sheet