If you’re in need of a smile, I suggest you check out the exhibition Tête bedaine orteil (Head Belly Toes) currently running at Galerie Illustration Quebec. Fourty illustrators were supplied with three wood panels each, with the request to paint a character across them divided into head, body, and legs. For the exhibition the individual panels are jumbled up, reminiscent of the mix-up flip books we played with as kids. The result is a charming, riotous circus of odd individuals: robots mix with mermaid tails and bodies in stiff corsets, bears and birds sport pinstriped suits and high heeled shoes. Besides the variety of characters, each illustrator also showcases their unique artistic style, so you’ll see cartoons next to collage, lyrical realism alongside flat abstraction. As a reference, reproductions of the intact sets are displayed right at the entrance of the gallery space, but personally I prefer the randomized versions. Each panel is sold separately, so you can pick and choose a head, body, and legs to create your own unique character – an extension of the exhibition’s concept that is wonderfully playful.
If you’d like a preview of the options available, Galerie Illustration Québec has created an online flipbook version of the exhibition, which allows you to virtually mix and match your own figure. Now go and have some fun!

Galerie Illustration Québec, space 123
Group exhibition of 40 illustrators
Tête bedaine orteil
September 30 – October 27, 2011
www.illustrationquebec.com