Clément de Gaulejac
Bottes de pluie
2023
Presentation of the artwork
The work is composed of a pair of bronze boots perched on a stone pedestal, made of Saint-Marc stone, in a classic style reminiscent of the former Maisonneuve city hall. The boots are filled with water that stirs in a slow boil and sometimes overflows their tops. About every five minutes, a thin vertical jet of water erupts, rising three feet above one or the other of the boots for a few seconds then falling back, following the principle of a sprinkler. Then, a new cycle begins: a slow boil, overflowing, eruption. The simple aesthetic of the boots makes it easy for people in the neighbourhood to appropriate the artwork. Behind this apparent simplicity, however, the work deals with numerous themes, including flooding due to climate change, thus suggesting a number of questions and interpretations.Associated events
This work was produced in the context of the redevelopment of Bibliothèque Maisonneuve, which is subject to the Gouvernement du Québec’s Politique d’intégration des arts à l’architecture et à l’environnement des bâtiments et des sites gouvernementaux et publics.
© Clément de Gaulejac
Isabelle Riendeau, 2023
Clément de Gaulejac
The artist, author, and illustrator Clément de Gaulejac was born 1974 and has lived in Montréal since the early 2000s. His works have been presented at Musée régional de Rimouski; Galerie UQO, Vox, centre de l’image contemporaine; Axenéo7; and Centre des arts actuels Skol. He has written numerous books; created illustrations for newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses; and produced posters for social and political movements. In 2021, he received a research grant from the Grantham Foundation for the Arts and the Environment. In his aesthetic, poetic, and political practice, he shows the sometimes conflicting, but necessary, mechanisms for living together and common sense.
Presentation of the artwork
The work is composed of a pair of bronze boots perched on a stone pedestal, made of Saint-Marc stone, in a classic style reminiscent of the former Maisonneuve city hall. The boots are filled with water that stirs in a slow boil and sometimes overflows their tops. About every five minutes, a thin vertical jet of water erupts, rising three feet above one or the other of the boots for a few seconds then falling back, following the principle of a sprinkler. Then, a new cycle begins: a slow boil, overflowing, eruption. The simple aesthetic of the boots makes it easy for people in the neighbourhood to appropriate the artwork. Behind this apparent simplicity, however, the work deals with numerous themes, including flooding due to climate change, thus suggesting a number of questions and interpretations.Associated events
This work was produced in the context of the redevelopment of Bibliothèque Maisonneuve, which is subject to the Gouvernement du Québec’s Politique d’intégration des arts à l’architecture et à l’environnement des bâtiments et des sites gouvernementaux et publics.
Clément de Gaulejac
The artist, author, and illustrator Clément de Gaulejac was born 1974 and has lived in Montréal since the early 2000s. His works have been presented at Musée régional de Rimouski; Galerie UQO, Vox, centre de l’image contemporaine; Axenéo7; and Centre des arts actuels Skol. He has written numerous books; created illustrations for newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses; and produced posters for social and political movements. In 2021, he received a research grant from the Grantham Foundation for the Arts and the Environment. In his aesthetic, poetic, and political practice, he shows the sometimes conflicting, but necessary, mechanisms for living together and common sense.
