Photo credit: Olivier Ruel
For more than a year, the concrete structure of the Hôtel Mile End has been part of the everyday urban landscape of Montreal. Passersby were taken by surprise when their usual scenery was enhanced with the addition of the ephemeral piece by artist Nancy Guilmette. The first piece to occupy Room 202 in the building under construction, Guilmette’s work incorporated a host of lush plants, transforming the site into an artistic statement and disrupting the constant flux and commotion of modern life. The series explores the encounter between the stark architecture of the building’s concrete frame and the vitality of nature.
Guilmette’s artistic pathway has been characterized by a human approach that focuses on the impact of the work on people’s daily lives. Through their directness, the ephemeral installations create a rupture the urban landscape and impose a new and unique aesthetic perspective.
The series, which includes Room 202 at Hôtel Mile End in Montreal, focuses on the fleeting temporality of a given work and the contrast between the exhibition space and the dynamism of nature. For a moment, the landscape is changed completely, and then later returns to its previous state when the work is removed without a trace.
“From concrete, we borrow the space where we allow nature to emerge.” NG
