When Montreal artist Josée Pedneault stayed in Paris for a residency programme, she became a little nostalgic. There she was, in the “City of Love”, on her own, and suddenly she was filled with an acute sense of isolation. Inspired by this emotion, Pedneault started photographing love graffitis – hearts carved into trees, initials scribbled on park benches with magic marker, names sprayed onto sidewalks – and soon this “little side project”, as she calls it, became a major endeavour. Her show “So you don’t forget about me” just opened at Galerie Lilian Rodriguez, and it exhibits her collection of 200 photos of these public declarations of love. Pedneault is intrigued by the need to make permanent this ephemeral feeling of love. By carving someone’s initials into a desk, we are making our private feelings public while staying anonymous, hoping that our loved one will spot our message, a message which may outlast the feeling expressed.

Taking her search for love graffiti a step further, Pedneault catalogued the location of every graffiti and noted it on a map of Paris. For this exhibition she recreated this map by painting the flow of the Seine onto the gallery floor and stenciling all the lover’s names where they were spotted in Paris, creating a map of love.
If ever you’re having a bad day, this exhibit is guaranteed to immediately warm your heart and make you smile. You won’t be able to help yourself. I’ll be going back for a refill often.

Galerie Lilian Rodriguez
space 405
Josée Pedneault
So you don’t forget about me
May 1 – June 5, 2010
www.galerielilianrodriguez.com