JEAN-ROBERT DROUILLARD

NOUS SOMMES DE PETITS LIÈVRES FILOUS

2024 | Basswood

Co-presented by Institut canadien de Québec.

From the top of a new observatory, three half-human, half-hare figures make their presence known. Because they’re perched on top of crates, it’s easy to assume that they’ve escaped their confines to play a trick on us. Jean-Robert Drouillard is fascinated by the symbolic nature of the hare: in many oral traditions, it represents instinct and can sometimes embody the character of a trickster. This work was made using a technique called direct carving. And just like the story, it’s been passed down from a long tradition of carving that Drouillard has revived. For him, wood carving is an act of remembrance: not only of a gesture, but also of stories and the people who tell them.

The artist and Manif d’art would like to thank the Maison de la littérature.

JEAN-ROBERT DROUILLARD

Having reclaimed the techniques of traditional sculpture, Jean-Robert Drouillard considers himself a kind of visual arts artisan. Fascinated by elements of storytelling, fables, and legends, he creates narrative poems that integrate both traditional and contemporary referents. A solo exhibition of his work was held at the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke, and he has also shown at the Musée national des beaux-arts de Québec, and in several artist-run centres across the province. While mostly known for his many public art projects, Drouillard also has a career as a singer-songwriter under the name Juste Robert.

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