Zebras Collective
And the suspicion arises that even the zebra was not designed for our benefit
2024
Ice, agar, and natural dyes, variable dimensions
Artist statement
This project is a collaborative effort between a sculptor, a painter, a graphic designer, and local communities. The installation involves the daily addition of ice and agar objects on a bench in the courtyard outside of the FOFA Gallery. It is a performance of accumulation that grows over time which invites nearby commuters to critically examine the waste we produce. The objects are created using everyday disposable packaging like coffee cups, plastic containers, and other discarded materials such as molds. The molds are sourced from nearby local garbage bins and through a call-out to the community at large.
Commodities outlast us. How does their continuous accumulation and presence influence our sense of history? The public is invited to move and touch the work in an effort to bring attention and return agency to objects that have been discarded. The ambiguity of the objects represented speaks both to the beauty of natural materials and our tumultuous relationship with single-use commodities. There are still-life qualities to the artwork that allow for various interpretations and lines of questioning.
The first iteration of the project was made with all members of the collective: Rianna Huynh, Yann-Marc Pignard, and Édouard Vanasse.
Artists' biographies
Rianna Huynh is a graphic designer and artist based in Montréal. She is currently pursuing a major in Design at Concordia University and has a background in Studio Arts. She works in a variety of media, such as drawing, painting, sculpture, and recently digital art. Using the skills and knowledge she has gained from her studies she combines her interest in both disciplines to produce work that is unique and creative. Her work focuses on creating a connection between the real and the fantastical to bring to life and evoke the realms of our imagination.
Yann-Marc Pignard is an artist from the coast of Brittany now working in Montréal. Mostly engaged in site-specific installations and 3D practices, he is currently a BFA candidate in sculpture at Concordia University. Prior to a career shift in 2020, he held various positions in the pharmaceutical industry. His research questions materials, spaces, everyday objects and processes in relation to postmodern culture and environmental issues. Influenced by the writings of Jacques Ellul and Bernard Stiegler, he looks for new forms of resistance to technological society. His current work is an exploration of the barricade as a sculptural form and act of spatial resistance.
