Œuvre d'art public

Dans l'oeil de ce monde

Marie-Christiane Mathieu, Dans l'oeil de ce monde, 2007
Marie-Christiane Mathieu, Dans l'oeil de ce monde, 2007
Location:
Pavillon de cancérologieCharles-Bruneau, Sainte-Justine Hospital, 3175 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC, H3T 1C5, Canada
Artwork creator(s): 
Mathieu, Marie-Christiane
Text author(s): 
Mathieu, Marie-Christiane
Installation year: 
2007
Remarks on location: 

At the junction between the old and the new buildings

Description: 

A totem pole is topped by a leafy cabin in which a hare may be living. The artwork is made up of four components: a totem pole, a cabin, a tortoise and a hare. Each element carries its own story. The totem pole connects heaven and earth. The cabin, like a treehouse, is the perfect hiding place for any child. A strong and patient tortoise inhabits this place along with a nervous hare who is always ready to jump around. The names of 600 children who have been treated in this pavilion are engraved on the totem pole.

Text of the artwork: 

Ah! lui dit le lièvre

combien de temps

faut-il pour se rendre 

jusque-là?

Il n'est pas question

de se presser, dit la

tortue, l'important est 

d'y arriver ensemble

Text theme: 
Patience, vitality and fear; narratives of the various stories that parents and children will tell each other as they await treatment.
Artwork theme: 
Fear, patience, perseverance and the determination experienced by those affected by disease.
Note(s): 

A very long time ago - I would say in the time of totem poles and roaming wildlife, well before the arrival of the White Man -, a small hare lived in the eye of the world. It is unclear how or by what curse, he suddenly found himself at the very top of a pole, in a high-perched cabin...

 

Marie-Christiane Mathieu (2008). Nous. <http://www.ontogenetic.org/ste-justine/index.html>

Architect(s): 
Yelle Maillé Birtz Bastien Beaudoin Laforest (Architects)
Document(s): 

Intégration des arts à l'architecture et à l'environnement. Bilan 2004-2007

MCCCQ (2008).  Intégration des arts à l'architecture et à l'environnement. Bilan 2004-2007. : Gouvernement du Québec