Aux Souches

A winter station « heats the outdoor » in the midst of the pandemic in Lachine

Comment dire les choses autrement :
on s’est remplis
de couleurs
qui existent juste
quand on ferme les yeux
– Marie-Andrée Gill, Chauffer le dehors

The setup consists of nine rotating light stumps that invite passers-by to pause for a break. Together with twelve small tree trunks, it creates a pleasant impression of urban woodland. The place is inviting, reassuring and luminous. The setting invites walkers to take a new look at a familiar place.

A dichroic film integrated into the transparent seat of the stumps produces an astonishing light effect. During the day, the reflection of natural light is colored in cold tones. At night, the same film refracts the lighting of the recessed luminaires in amber tones. Both day and night, the movement of the seat and of the passer-by varies the colors, soothing the visitor with soft poetry. 

Luminous pixels projected in the trees of the park create a vertical appeal that evokes starlit skies. As the Quebec poet Marie-Andrée Gill writes, one feels like closing the eyes and seeing things in a different way…