Gatineau - outdoor artworks part 3 of 3

At the end of July, when I was in Canada again, I strolled the downtown area of Gatineau (this area was formerly known as Hull) on Le sentier culturel to see outdoor sculptures, murals and artistic interventions. This is my third post about the cultural trail and my previous posts may be seen here and here.

“Mères au front” and “Flȃneries” were two pieces that worked together in the single space of an otherwise disused and overgrown lot 

Each artwork had a nearby didactic in both French and English, which gave the title of the work, artist's name and link (if applicable) as well as a brief explanation of the work.

Often on the nearby footpath a colourful marker acted as a reminder of the nearby artwork. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of vandalism along the trail. Small perspex/plexiglass holders containing free colour brochures that included a trail map could be found near every artwork.

The colourful abstract mural on this building was certainly eye-catching!

I was especially drawn to the painted corner bricks.

I wasn't particularly impressed by the mural on the side of this container building, but I was again impressed by the lack of vandalism! The container had an end entrance that lead to a mini cinema where a video was playing on a loop. One could sit down and watch the video or simply take a peep.

A short walk to the edge of the canal brought me to another sculpture and works that could be seen across the water.

Although this picture shows another artwork across the canal, I was more interested in the reflections and the architecture...

There were many murals along the trail, but this one, by Dominic Laporte, was my favourite. It was painted as a tribute to the historic textile industry of Hull (downtown Gatineau) and the women textile workers.

As well as being an explosion of colour, what I especially liked was that from a distance the mural appeared to be tightly painted, yet from a closeup point of view the solidity seemed to disintegrate (as with the ethereal loom) and

the painting technique was incredibly loose as colours dripped into each other. Further information on the art trail and the artists involved can be found on Le sentier culturel website.

Gatineau - outdoor artworks part 2 of 3

While I was in Canada in July, the last leg of my trip was in Ottawa. I spent a day walking Le sentier culturel (the culture path) in Gatineau across the river and I saw so much artwork that I figured I had to devote several blog posts to it; this is the second and the first is here.

This mural was designed by José Guénette as a reminder that the area has a history of being ravaged by fires, but also a reminder of the major (past) employer of the area, the EB Eddy Match Co. The children - of any time - act as witnesses to the events of any era. These particular children could easily represent children of employees from a century ago or children now.

Place Aubry is a small pedestrian area in the middle of the downtown core. Walking in from the street I was drawn to the faux fountain where various colourful animals appeared to be drinking.

 M Chadid's Havre de paix provided a colourful comment in three dimensions wondering if even predators can live together in peace with their prey.

I could hardly miss the flock of butterflies soaring in the space between the buildings!

Samuelle Desjardins' Des ailes pour notre région (Wings for our region) took flight overhead!

A short block away there were several more murals. The jazzy covering of a complete building is a celebration of this area’s past as “Little Chicago” (though according to Wikipedia this is due to crime in the area around the time of Prohibition). 

This past is brought to life by Philippe Landry and Marin Mitrasinovic.  

Although this building mural was also lively and colourful (and next door to the other one!) it was NOT part of the cultural trail so I do not know who the artists were.

Kitty corner to this was Mitrasinovic’s solo mural, “Pop 60”, to my eyes interesting but not as rich or lively as the jazzy one she did with Landry.

Gatineau - outdoor artworks part 1 of 3

While in Ottawa at the end of July, my sister-in-law drove me to nearby Gatineau (PQ) to have a look at “Le Sentier Culturel”, i.e. The Cultural Trail. The artworks were mapped around the centre of the town and one simply had to walk around to have a look at the outdoor work. It was a lovely day – a bit overcast and not as hot as other days, so it was perfect for walking about. At most spots on the trail, there was a little display box of brochures that gave information about each stop along the way. Although I had looked at the website the night before, it was handy to have the brochure with me as I walked through the streets.

After parking the car, the first work we came across was number 8 on the list, Bordalo II's One man's trash is another man's treasure. This huge and colourful wall sculpture - if it was on a smaller scale I might have called it a collage! - was made entirely from repurposed garbage.

Across the road from this sculpture was a civic square and several works on the trail were found here. The colourful entrance to the square was NOT part of the trail but is an indication of the vibrant sensibility of Gatineau. Please note that the appearance of a deserted city is due to this being a business area and not only was it Saturday, but it was a long weekend when I visited! 

This playful mural on the side of one of the buildings was also not part of the trail, just another indication of Gatineau's sensibility.

I was delighted to see this work in the flesh - from one of the pictures on the website, I had already picked Mathieu Fecteau's sculpture of boats as my favourite work on the trail. Je t'appelerai bateau-feu bateau-lumière (the title - I shall call you fireboat lightboat) was excerpted from a 2018 poem by Agnès Riverin.

 I love the way the sculpture references paper boats from childhood and I love them appearing as if stained glass. I also loved the way the bright colours of the boats reflected in the glass of surrounding buildings and in the rippling water of the fountain pool.

I am not sure of the materials used - being in the middle of a fountain, I could not get a close-up look!

From a distance I could see what looked like a pair of binoculars, but it was the sculptural element of a sound piece that was unfortunately broken on my visit. The large white bone-like sculpture was an artwork that was not part of the cultural trail. When I got a closer view of it the white did not seem so luminous. In fact, this work from the 1970s was in need of a bit of TLC as the paint was peeling and it looked like a few repair jobs had been haphazardly carried out over its lifetime.

I was curious about this bright little pavilion, but did not see a reference to its maker/designer in the brochure. 

The brochure describes Espace sensible as a series of exhibitions commissioned by Artch, an organisation that is specifically interested in the work of emerging curators and artists. 

While I was there, there was work by several artists but there was no indication of how long this work would be available for viewing or what the next exhibit would be. 

I was most curious about the pavilion itself, rather than the work displayed within it.

In any case, it was great to be able to walk around and enjoy the outdoor works. There is more to come, as I took lots of photos, so this will be my topic for the next few weeks (two more blog posts)