Men from behind install a huge photograph on a wall overhanging bookshelves.

Les fleurs – My First Public Art Work

3 July 2021

I was very proud to win an acquisition competition this spring as part of the Policy for the Integration of Arts in Architecture. What a joy it was to attend, at the end of June, the hanging of my work Les fleurs at the municipal library of Saint-Bonaventure, near Drummondville.

Photomontage of a girl climbing a ladder looking at giant flowers in a book

Les fleurs, 2021 | Inkjet print on photo paper mounted under tempered glass | 60" x 72"

This large colorful image is perfect for illuminating a library. We see a child climbing a ladder and looking into a book, a book filled with flowers... This dreamy photomontage plays on the theme of reading and knowledge, while winking at the world of horticulture, which is important for the community of Saint-Bonaventure.

The making-of

Perched on the ladder is my daughter Emma. Taken several years ago, this photo was intended for another project that never saw the light of day. After a few tries, I found the right book that I had to stretch in Photoshop to balance the proportions of the composition. These are the basic elements of the photomontage. The rest is hours of painstaking work to blend all the visual components together and create the magic...

I would like to thank Michel Séguin with whom I collaborated for the printing and who took care of the mounting under tempered glass and the framing, as well as Matthieu Gauvin's team for the transportation and hanging. At six feet high by five feet wide, the work was very heavy, posing quite a challenge for an overhead installation. Thanks to the solid anchors, it will not move for many years.

If you ever pass through the small municipality of Saint-Bonaventure, stop by the library to admire the flowers that seem to be growing above the shelves of books!