Ice Palace of Little Burgundy
“Ice Palace of Little Burgundy” 2013
Date of Installation: November 3rd 2013
Situated in Little Burgundy, Montreal, Canada
Dimensions: 30″ x 30″ x 64″
Materials: Decorative vinyl film, various textured papers, fishing wire, beads, glue, notebook, string and fabricated Bell uniform.
In October 2013, I decided to work on a series of interventions relating to the space and usage of our Bell telephone booths in Montreal, focusing primarily in the South West area, the boroughs near my home; St-Henri, Little Burgundy, Griffintown, Pointe St-Charles & Verdun. I would transform one to two Bell phone booths every month for an entire year with a different theme in mind for each one. For me one of the most important aspects of this project was the re-appropriation of the phone booth and the democratization of the public/private space in our city. I decided to make my own Bell Uniform for this performance to emphasize the ritual process of these transformations as well as play on what we, the public, may perceive as being real versus unreal, legal versus illegal, right versus wrong… Blurring these boundaries was important as a statement on how our initiative to improve our surroundings through different kinds of interventions and art is essential to the beautification of our space as well as a means of connecting with others in a series of unexpected ephemeral public art installations. Another important element to this series of interventions is the value of working collaboratively with others on some of the booths. The sharing of ideas and experiences between us is vital for this creative process to exist and grow, this is why I have decided to make this a collaborative effort where creativity is part of a learning and sharing experience, in many ways, a gift for us all; creators and receivers of the artwork.
“Ice Palace of Little Burgundy”
I hope you enjoy your new phone booth that I have designed especially for Little Burgundy! I had so much pleasure transforming this space for everyone to see and experience how art and beauty can really engage our sense of curiosity and hopefully bring us to another world for at least a brief moment. Please feel free to leave me your comments and suggestions in the little guestbook hanging below. Your thoughts and ideas are precious to me.
Thank you!
Signed by the artist:
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“Palais de Glace de la Petite Bourgogne”
J’espère que cette cabine téléphonique transformée vous fera plaisir; elle a été conçue spécialement pour la Petite Bourgogne! J’ai eu un bonheur énorme dans ce projet et je souhaite sincèrement que vous auriez une expérience positive qui vous emportera dans un monde magique pendant un bref moment. Je vous invite d’inscrire vos commentaires et suggestions dans le livret ci-dessous. Vos idées et opinions sont précieuses pour moi.
Merci beaucoup!
Signé par l’artiste :