MÉLISSA SIMARD
TOURBIÈRE
Mélissa Simard’s performance entitled Tourbière (“peat bog”) was presented during the vernissage. In this work, the artist develops a poetic vision of the extraction of natural resources and invites us to make a foray into the world of the raw materials that have historically contributed to our country’s growth.
Tourbière also explores the metaphorical link between the female body and the earth. The decomposing earth and the life-giving earth are depicted in their duality. This performance addresses our unconscious and buried fears, evoking thoughts and mythical creatures that hide in the wilderness, peat bogs or swamps.
Creative Process
Interdisciplinary artist Mélissa Simard is working on various research/creation projects involving the body as a vehicle for breaking social and spatial boundaries. For the past few years, she has created a number of performances in the public space or in unconventional places, and has designed media works and created experimental short films.
The Artist
Mélissa Simard was born in Rimouski and has lived in Quebec City since 2009. She has presented her performances at several events, including the 2016 Cuban-Norwegian Theatre Days at the Ibsen Laboratorio in Havana, Cuba; Poetry Month in Quebec City in 2015, 2014 and 2013; the 2014 NarrAction at CÉLAT-UQAC in Chicoutimi; and the 2013 Cirque Roots with Pocha Nostra in Tucson, Arizona.
ARTIST’S WEBSITE
RELATED ACTIVITIES
PHOTO CREDITS
Géraldine Rondeau
