Handle with care (a practice in losing control)
May 7, 2021
Serpents and Stone, A Woman on the Other Side
May 11, 2021
Exhibition runs until July 3, 2021
This exhibition is part of the 2021 Medalta International Artists in Residence program.
This body of work by Julie-Claude Vezeau-Croteau explores the narrative potential of the objects of our daily lives. She believes that our quotidian objects reveal to us our individual and collective identity. They divulge the ways that we have lived, as well as the ways that we are living because of the history of their materiality, of their shape, of their usage, of how they were made and in which condition they were made. Therefore, Julie-Claude believes that setting up new ways to encounter these objects also offers us the opportunity to reflect differently on ourselves.
Within these ceramic works, she explores the materiality of glaze and clay bodies. Julie-Claude is interested in how ceramic can disguise itself as other materials and create an uncanny feeling. Using this process gained knowledge, she constructed objects with visual language borrowed from comics with the intention of figuratively projecting ourselves on those objects themselves. She also believes it makes the intention of the art piece accessible. Especially, since cartoons are a part of mass culture.
Julie-Claude’s recent works reflects on objects and animals that she has encountered during her stay in Medicine Hat. Living in a new place during the pandemic and feeling isolated made her pay more attention to inanimate items that filled the environment and the wildlife that surrounded her during her daily walk and time at the studio. The lack of human contact made their presence grow stronger. She felt the necessity to represent these animals in relation to the objects that were collected in a way to create a visual representation of her stay and share this experience.
See the online guide for ‘Les Bernaches Ont Froids’
https://www.jclovcro.com/
Artist Biography
Julie-Claude Vezeau-Croteau is an interdisciplinary artist, born and raised in Montreal. She received her D.E.C. of Visual art from Cégep Marie-Victorin in 2016 with the Marie-Victorin Foundation’s Visual Art scholarship. Graduated from Concordia University in 2020, her artistic practice is articulated around the narrative potential of daily life objects. She believes that our quotidian objects reflect our taste, our desires, our culture and our values. Taking the time to understand those is a way to understand ourselves. Julie-Claude expresses her ideas through installation, collage, ceramic, performance and fiber. Julie-Claude is a recipient of the 2020 Fasa for the Individual Special Project Grants and of the 2021 Canada Council for the Arts Research and Creation Grant. She exhibited her work across Canada.
Julie-Claude Vezeau-Croteau est une artiste interdisciplinaire de Montréal. Elle a reçu son D.E.C en Art Visuel à Marie-Victorin en 2016 et a reçu une bourse soulignant son mérite scolaire de la fondation du Collège Marie-Victorin. En 2020, elle reçoit son diplôme en Art Visuel de l’Université Concordia. Sa pratique artistique est articulée autour du potentiel narratif des objets de notre quotidien. Les objets de notre quotidien reflètent nos goûts, nos valeurs, nos désirs et notre culture. S’attarder à les comprendre, c’est prendre le temps de se comprendre en tant qu’individu et communauté. Julie-Claude exprime ses idées par le collage, la céramique, la performance, l’installation et les arts textiles. Julie-Claude Vezeau-Croteau a reçu une bourse de recherche et création par le Conseil des Arts du Canada. Son travail a été exposé à travers le Canada.
