Concordia student wins Fibre Arts award

The efforts of emerging textiles artists have been recognized since 2001 by galerie Diagonale, who has been awarding their ‘prix du centre des arts et des fibres du Quebec’, to chosen students each year. This year, the prizes were awarded to Jeanne Landry from Universite de Laval, Marie-Kim Landriault from Universite du Quebec en Outaouais and Concordia’s very own Helene Brousseau. The recipients of this prestigious award also currently have their works on display at Diagonale. The Concordian’s Annie Briard called up Helene Brousseau to get the dirt on fibres.

Annie Briard: When most people think of art school, they think of traditional forms such as painting, and many think of fibre as being bran cereal. What made you choose to study this particular medium?

Helene Brousseau: I began working with fibre arts and textiles at Concordia four years ago. Having studied Fine Arts at Champlain College, I entered the fibre arts program for my BAC because I was interested in art theory, but also in learning new techniques I hadn’t already explored.

AB: What are your favourite materials and techniques in textiles?

HB: My favourite material would be raw canvas and I think my favourite techniques would be weaving and shooting guns.

AB: Shooting guns! I’m guessing you shoot them somewhere other than the school studios…

HB: Yeah, out of town! I never really learnt to shoot, but got curious with the political issues of conflict and war in my art themes, so I wanted to see what it felt like to shoot, to be the perpetrator. I use my father’s hunting rifle. I was reusing images from the news in my art, and told myself that in the gallery, I wouldn’t want to see those images again, just recycling the media’s photos . . . That’s when I started looking at them from the other side.

AB: Other than political issues, do you explore any more personal themes in your work?

HB: Yes, I’ve used myself as the model lately, trying on different created personas to see what fits best. Three of my personas are exhibited at Diagonale. The first is called “I am my Father” and I pose as a biker gang member. In the second, “I am a Terrorist,” I point a gun at a camera and look proud, a bit like the school shooting images found online of the killers, proudly showing off their guns. In the third, “I’m Marriage Material,” I go undercover trying on wedding dresses, for an image of myself that could be more expected than the other two performances.

AB: So, did any of those characters fit you in the end?

HB: No! They’re not me! But it’s nice knowing I can now eliminate some of those possibilities for myself.

AB: What other pieces are you showing at Diagonale right now?

HB: Drawings on shot up canvas, as well as photos. I consider them separate pieces though.

AB: When will you be free from Concordia, and what do you hope to do afterwards?

HB: I’ll be graduating this June. I’m not sure yet exactly what I plan on doing . . . Finding my life, I think, and definitely taking a year off of school. It’ll be like a test to see if I can integrate art in my daily life, without the deadlines and school resources.

AB: Where do you see fibre arts heading?

HB: Well, when I received the fibre arts prize, I was really surprised because I know how to weave and do all the techniques, but at the time I was focusing more on photography and shooting. You start to realize that fibre is actually very interdisciplinary. Textiles have a lot of history, mainly in the crafts, and that’s still an important side of fibre arts. Because of its openness to all other media, it has less conventions than painting, for example, and it has a certain freedom in today’s world. There is even a fibre arts department at Hexagram (art and technology research group) and there are scientific experiments being conducted with textiles and their various possibilities for the army and other fields.

AB: Any words of wisdom for the other fibre arts students at Concordia?

HB: Sometimes being the underdog will pay in the end. Hang in there!

Check out Helene Brousseau’s recent work as well that of the other two prize recipients at galerie Diagonale until March 8. For more info, call 514.524.6645 or go to www.artdiagonale.org.

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