Alexandra Collin
Interview & Photography / Catherine Bernier
Alexandra is an artist from the Chaudière-Appalaches area of Quebec province. Her work revolves around an exploratory approach in the quest for the sensory experience of humans to nature. A bit like an alchemist, the artist cultivates plants and uses them as natural pigments into various mediums. With a multidisciplinary approach combining, among other things such as photography, painting and dyeing, she adopts a poetic approach to create artworks in which spontaneous and planned gestures act as a mirror of this interaction between humans and nature. In her own way, she tries to rediscover this lost intimacy with nature.
During her art residency in situ at the lakeside cottage in Lac-Beauport, Quebec, Alexandra created a large piece of art made out of plants that she collected on site.
Portrait by Andréanne Tenhave
Tell us about your experience.
I did this residency with a very specific goal in mind. I set myself the challenge of using natural materials on site. My intention was to connect to my environment through my exploration and to truly anchor the artwork to its habitat. As a sort of exchange, a bilateral relationship based on mutual respect of intimacy between the creation and the landscape.
What inspired you on site?
The smell of conifers and moss, the reflection of the silhouette of the trees dancing on the water, the strange plum color that the lake takes on at certain times of the day, the orange light that passes through the foliage and tints the forest floor. Inspiration manifests itself quickly in such an enchanting setting.
What are your upcoming projects ?
Wonderful projects are coming up for 2024, including a solo exhibition, a cultural mediation workshop that I will lead in the summer, as well as an exhibition residency during which I will present the fruit of my explorations.
“ In my own way, I try to rediscover this lost intimacy with nature. ”
- Alexandra
Photo by Alexandra Collin
Follow Alexandra Collin / @alexandracollin_
Portraits by Catherine Bernier / @cath.be
