Public Artwork
Au fil de ta promenade
Location:
Centre de santé des Sept-Rivières, 103 boulevard Rochelois, Port-Cartier, QC, G5B 1K5, Canada
See map: Google Maps
Artwork creator(s):
Riverin, Agnès
Text author(s):
Riverin, Agnès
Installation year:
2003
Remarks on location:
The city of Port-Cartier, in the MRC des Sept-Rivières, is located along the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River and is characterized mainly by the immensity of the land and shores and by its abundance of natural resources. The Centre de santé des Sept Rivières includes a CLSC and a small medical centre that houses a long-term care facility.
The Work:
The coastal horizon stretches along the entire North Shore. Agnès Riverin chose to illustrate it in four ways, which can be found in the Centre de santé’s Place Publique (lobby) and its dining room.
Description:
The Wreck:
Fascinated by the mysterious wreck of the Lady Era, which washed up on the shores of Port-Cartier over 20 years ago, the artist made it the focal point of this work. Thus, a steel silhouette of the wreck floats on the wall of the Place publique (lobby). Jutting out slightly, it hugs the curve of the wall. Corten steel, used in this project, has been oxidized without affecting its resistance. Its rich colours will intensify with time, just like those of the Lady Era.
The Boxes:
Facing the wall featuring the wreck, the small wall of the Place publique provided another opportunity to explore dreams and memories. A horizontal line made up of six cherry wood boxes with glass panels (40 x 40 x 15cm) separates the Place publique from the nurses’ station. Each box, featuring a glass panel on both sides, features a porthole printed in transparency on the interior panels, revealing its contents.
Three of these boxes contain historic elements referring to forestry (pulp and paper, lumber), the mining industry (iron minerals) and fisheries. The three others integrate old photos of three of the centre’s first residents, commemorating their passage in the institution. These men and women, seen in transparency, symbolize the process of Alzheimer’s disease: long-term memory, first seen as a ghostly presence, slowly overtakes short-term memory. A poetic text written by the artist can be read on both sides, linking the boxes together. The poem takes viewer-readers on a morning stroll by the sea to watch the sunrise.
Dining Room:
In the dining room, two series of portholes are hung across from each other; diners are seated aboard a virtual ship.
Six Pictorial Works:
On the first wall, measuring 9.75m, there are six paintings, each measuring 60cm in width. They represent six different views of the sea-river: from the beach, the harbour, the sea and the road. Painted in oil with large strokes, the chiaroscuro contrast highlights the play of light upon the water or the close-up of a wave.
Six Sculptural Works:
On the 7.75m wall near the windows, six sculpted wood pieces measuring 60cm each cast their shadows. The maritime theme is maintained. Close-ups of waves and the movement of the water are sculpted in linden wood and call to mind the forestry industry in Port-Cartier. They are the same size as the oil paintings and are hung at the same height on the wall; they evoke both the horizon and a series of portholes on the hull of a ship.
Text of the artwork:
L’horizon pour seul voyage
tu distends de mille coudées
les rumeurs lointaines
Baigné dans cette lumière
à dissoudre toute forme
le silence t’habite
chargé d’azur et de vent
Au fil de ta promenade
un journal délavé
fouillis d’eau et de mots
suspend brièvement l’errance matinale
ton regard s’interrompt
quelque chose d’autre appelle le présent
Conquis tu t’inclines
devant le plus beau des coquillages
et tes mains déposent un sourire sur le sable
où tu cueilles encore des ailleurs coutumiers
Derrière les bruits familiers
qui s’installent lentement
le mystère répété au jour le jour
une fois de plus te surprend
De retour chez toi
tu t’assieds près de la fenêtre
Il te reste un peu de café
la douceur du vent sur ta peau
et la sagesse des vagues
pour régler le sort de l’humanité
Souriant aux lueurs maritimes
témoins de tes rêveries
tu connais ce que peu de gens connaissent
dans les mille gestes quotidiens
la durée se loge au coeur de l’instant
Text theme:
The pronoun "Tu" is used to include the viewer in this stroll. It speaks of a stroll along the river to see the sunrise and more.
Artwork theme:
The artist’s mandate was to create a calming work of art aimed at older people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease while including elements of the region’s three main economic areas, i.e. the former pulp and paper mill, the iron mine and fishing.
Note(s):
La communication, la rencontre sont au coeur de ma recherche visuelle et tous les projets d’art public que j’ai réalisé furent de merveilleux cadeaux pour établir des ponts entre ma création et les spectateurs. Ils m'ont aussi donné l'opportunité de créer des oeuvres ouvertes à l'autre et ce, dans un langage visuel poétique à plusieurs niveaux de lecture. Chaque projet a été créé afin d'interpellet le spectateur et par l'effet multiplié des approches artistiques (peinture, sculpture, poésie), de lui offir la possibilité de s'identifier à une partie ou à l'ensemble de l'oeuvre de manière toute personnelle. - Agnès Riverin, conservation avec l'artiste juillet 2009
Artist's biography:
Agnès Riverin
Owner(s):
CLSC- Centre de santé des Sept-Rivières 
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