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In the exhibition Pi, in progress, I share the research and reflections that led to the creation of Pi (2020-2022), a permanent artwork installed in the center of the foyer of Place des Arts. This research made me discover the story of so many people who shaped Place des Arts, as well as a great sense of belonging.
Pi is an installation made up of 15,000 stacked photos that reaches the height of 3.14 meters. The number 314 corresponds to the total number of active years of the seven founding members of Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury in 2020, the year in which construction of the building began and the creation of the art installation started. For mathematicians, 3.14 is also pi, a fascinating constant. Pi is a transcendent, irrational, infinite value. For me, these qualities are also those of Place des Arts.
The 15,000 photos reproduced in this installation come from the archives of the seven founding organizations. I searched extensively through more than 50,000 photos to choose images that show daily life and the behind-the-scenes of their creative work over many years. I also found myself in the archives, through images of Earlton, my hometown, and many familiar places and faces. Inspired by the movement of the Nouvel-Ontario that took place in the background of my childhood, I let myself be guided by the poetry of archived images.
My research process was largely the act of scrutinizing these thousands of photos over and over again. I made several selections; some of them have lived on the walls of my studio and are now found in the exhibition.
Lise Beaudry is a Franco-Ontarian artist originally from the rural region of Témiscamingue on the Ontario-Québec border. As an artist, she seeks ways to do and think with photography as a platform for experimentation. She holds a BFA from Concordia University (1997) and an MFA from York University (2006). Her photographic and video work has been presented across Canada and internationally, including Les Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Arles (1997), Grunt Gallery, Vancouver (1999) A Space, Toronto (2000), Biennial of Young Artists, Romania (2004), Ice Follies, North Bay (2006), AXENÉO7, Gatineau (2010), Art Gallery of Hamilton (2011) and Art Gallery of Mississauga (2012), Pierre François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montréal (2017) and Koffler Gallery, Toronto (2018). In 2012, Beaudry won the BMW Exhibition Prize at the Contact Photography Festival. Her works are in private collections including TD Bank Art Collection. Now residing in Toronto, she is a professor in the Art and Art History program at the University of Toronto in Mississauga.