Stray Beasts – Normand Hamel
From January 23rd throughout the run of Paradise Lost.
The improbable creatures that inhabit Normand Hamel’s new exhibit are no animals, nor are they minerals or robots. Straight out of an end-of-the-world imagery, these phantasmagorical creatures move forward as though they were the last survivors of a lost civilization. Their pierced bodies at times seem to rise towards the sky, to crawl, or to passively let themselves be punctured by light.
The artist stretches a cheesecloth onto an iron skeleton so as to give it the shape and thrust of moving creatures. After it is covered with a mixture made of glue and walnut stain, the fabric stiffens, its immobility thereby replicating the density of bronze. Combining technique and intuition, the sculptor invents a new materiality through which he creates an otherwordly hope founded upon play and imagination.
The 16 works presented here are a witness to an artistic practice that is both instinctive and conceptual. They mark a new milestone and tell an uncharted chapter of an Œuvre that never ceases to renew itself.
– Text by Pascale Milot
