NOTE-TO-SELF

PHOTOGRAPHS AND SCULPTURES BY CLARA COUSINEAU

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This second solo exhibition by Quebec artist Clara Cousineau in Brussels is focused on the daily observation of her environment over time. This approach is based on the simple act of taking notes and translates into the collection of yellow objects from public or private spaces, chosen for their symbolic meaning or their fortuitous appearance. They are perforated with precision to create 73 x 73 mm cut-out pieces. This size is equivalent to that of a Post-it note, the small square sticker used to write notes, lists or thoughts. The collection of the perforated objects, along with their scraps, becomes a memory of an action repeated over the years.

The perforation of the objects does not degrade their original function, but transforms them, opening the way to new interpretations of loss, alteration, transformation and memory. The objects are presented in the form of photographs that document the void left by the perforation. These images allow us to observe the dynamics between the original state of things and their state after modification. The photographed objects are accompanied by their cut-outs, which offer a new dialogue between the image of the object and its physical existence.

The second part of the project focuses on a mobile house located in Trois-Pistoles, on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River. This house, which belongs to the artist's brother Alexis, is destined to be demolished. Before its destruction, it becomes a space for reflection on the intimate relationship between the artist's body, his immediate habitat and the surrounding landscape.

An artist residency has been set up in this location to transform it into a final creative act. The house, which has witnessed the tides for several decades, was entirely painted yellow, giving it a final breath of life before it disappears. This artistic gesture is intended as a tribute to this space, its history and the traces of what will soon be reduced to memory. The yellow paint symbolises the passing of time and the fleeting moment before loss. It serves as a marker of the fragility of the moment. A hole pierced in the structure offers a glimpse of the landscape and heralds the imminent disappearance of the building.

Through this project, Clara invites us to reconsider the value of resources, time and memory. The motif of the Post it, a universal symbol of the ephemeral, embodies the desire to preserve the imprint of places and objects that have disappeared. Through a systematic and meditative gesture, the artist reaffirms the presence, whether functional or dysfunctional, of these spaces and objects before they disappear forever.

Born in Quebec City in 1994, Clara Cousineau lives and works in Montreal. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University and won the national prize in the BMO First Works! competition in 2018. Her work is regularly exhibited in Canadian galleries and artist-run centers in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Belgium and Paris. Her works are part of the collections of the City of Laval and Claridge in Montreal, as well as the Nobel Collection in Zurich.

Through her multidisciplinary artistic practice, Clara creates work that blurs the lines between different media. She explores their limits while preserving their integrity. The domestic environment and the symbolic significance of familiar objects are central to her work, as is the body and its close relationship with this environment.

Text: Clara Cousineau/Robert Klotz

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