The current exhibition at Visual Voice Gallery is an exercise in understatement: artist Joannie Côté-Bouchard is exhibiting three small sculptures from her series titled
In Excelsis.

Joannie Côté-Bouchard, “The Maker”

Joannie uses found objects, which she delicately modifies to create intriguing sculptures. She pays careful attention to both the materiality and the colour of each object, creating a harmonious whole both aesthetically and semantically.
A good example of her work is the sculpture The Maker. It consists of five identical plastic figurines of the woodcarver Geppetto, the “father” of Pinocchio. The figurines are placed on a grey plastic base which used to hold toy cars from the children’s game Rush Hour. At first glance, the sculpture seems to deal with the act of creation and play. But take your time, and keep looking – there are subtexts. Remember that Pinocchio was a “bad boy”, willful and not always truthful, as attested by his sprouting nose. By choosing the character of Gepetto, Joannie questions if artists are responsible for their creations. For example, should Wagner be held accountable for the way his work inspired Hitler’s book Mein Kampf? (This was Joannie’s question, though it’s something I occasionally ponder myself.) Also, the materiality of this sculpture, like Getting Physical, hints at another question: Gepetto was an artisan, creating unique pieces. But here he is, mass-reproduced in brightly coloured plastic. Gepetto’s workshop has been transformed into a Toys-R-Us. It’s a subtle comment on consumer culture and the value of uniqueness.

Visual Voice Art Gallery
space 421
Joannie Côté-Bouchard
In Excelsis
exhibition dates: March 27 – April 5, 2008,
www.visualvoicegallery.com