Citizens

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, this production brings together more than one hundred previously unpublished photographs by major artists on the Canadian contemporary scene, as well as a citizen's section featuring fifty images sent from Canada and France. In parallel to this virtual component, Image Sent was held in the gallery of the Canadian Cultural Centre from September 17 to October 16, 2020.

Created during the lockdown, this exhibition was elaborated from requests made to artists to send three images representing a current and personal vision of their world, a symbolic project specifically designed for France and consciously addressed to the French. Mostly comprising photographs made with the technology and in the spirit of the smartphone, Image... Sent also underlines the Canada-France relationship through the reciprocity of the citizens’panel.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in my winter studio in Quebec, painting my hand white, black, and green with the snow, wind and sun, until it became free in the spring and left with the lockdown: I thus created the emoticon of human solidarity for the international medical emergency services call centre for mental health, based in France: my commitment as an artist.

Canada

Sunrise in Ponteix, Saskatchewan, Décembre 1997
Bob St-Cyr

Bob ST-CYR

Sunrise in Ponteix, Saskatchewan, December, 1997

I chose this image because it is one of my favourites reminding me of home, my roots, where I grew up and where I first learned to express my world through the camera’s viewfinder. The prairie is one part of a vast and beautifully diverse landscape I enjoy as a Canadian in Canada.
A l’ouest de Calgary Alberta, Mai 2020
Patrick Klassen

Patrick KLASSEN

A l’ouest de Calgary Alberta, May, 2020

The beauty of the Prairies and the Rocky Mountains of Alberta in spring with a dog named Brutus.
Les Filles du Roy, Mai 2020
Blain, Roger

Roger BLAIN

Les Filles du Roy, May, 2020

The work of the muralist Annie Hamel recalls the role of the thirty-six first Filles du Roy (King’s Daughters) – all named on the sixth dress – in the implantation and blossoming of a colony in New France and, particularly, in Ville-Marie (now Montreal). Eight paintings, painted on the dresses of the first eight Filles du Roy to arrive in Montreal, tell the story of these women.
Being Together, Anyway / Streaming, Mai 2020
Philippe Boissonnet & Lorraine Beaulieu

Philippe BOISSONNET & Lorraine BEAULIEU

Being Together, Anyway / Streaming, May, 2020

A photo taken in front of our house, in Trois-Rivières, on the occasion of an online artistic event, Light-Windows, organisé par le Center for the Holographic Arts de New York (http://holocenter.org/) pendant le confinement mondial.
Tout rassemblement et toute exposition étant interdite, il s’agissait de faire valoir la lumière à la fois comme forme d’art et comme forme d’espoir et de ralliement international à travers une sculpture de bouteilles en plastique et un hologramme.
The Wave, Mai 2020
Paul Murasko

Paul MURASKO

The Wave, May, 2020

I chose this image because to me it is an uplifting message. A celebration of living, the sense of joy held in a moment. I use the immediacy of photography to act within the moment because I am interested in capturing the fleeting glimpse, the energy, the irreversible light. I try to understand the connection that asks me to remember these places and things . . . the need to share it with others. Our connection of the human spirit transcends seas, language and borders. It is our connection of the human spirit that we share. Our shared values and desires to be at peace in the universe, to be happy, healthy and free is a commonality we dream and build on. The year 2020 has been challenging, this image reminds me there is light at the end of tunnel, there will be moments of joy. I hope to evoke a contemporary vision of memory and consciousness and hope everyone can find their own positive allegory and carry it with them.
Hudson Bay Whaling Station, Apex, Nunavut, Mai 2020
Bill McKay

Bill MACKAY

Hudson Bay Whaling Station, Apex, Nunavut, May, 2020

The Hudson Bay Whaling and Fur Station in Apex, Nunavut, is a historic place where many families gather from Iqaluit to spend time at the beach and explore the remains of the whaling station and the beautiful surroundings. The building was originally a site for trading fur and whale products and later became a store to supply local Inuit with supplies. The store was closed in the 1960s but remains a popular tourist spot.
Living Alone, Mai 2020
Kennedy Collins

Kennedy COLLINS

Living Alone, May, 2020

This photograph is about the mental health struggles that come from being isolated and alone. Photography has always been a way for me to stay connected to others in a time where social distancing is required. When we are all separated together, we come to realize how much we rely on one another.
Walking Meditation, Mai 2020
Milanka Bunard

Milanka BUNARD

Walking Meditation, May, 2020

My daily walk through the industrial part of East Vancouver to my artist studio was always full of sounds, smells and apprehensiveness of danger within this part of the city.
My first walk after the quarantine was a step into the magical stillness of silence and natural beauty. Everything looked different but the same. I feared the absence of people and their possible presence as well. I’m offering this image as a reminder that once you embrace constraints, there is beauty everywhere.
Gros Morne parc national, Mars 2016
Thibaut Ketterer

Thibaut KETTERER

Gros Morne parc national, March, 2016

Newfoundland. One night at the foot of the Tablelands during a snowstorm when it was -18°C. For me, it expresses the beauty and grandeur of the Newfoundland landscapes, as well as the harshness of the Canadian climate.
Desertion (Chris Weaver), Mai 2020
CA - 22 Segers, Walter

Walter SEGERS

Desertion (Chris Weaver), May, 2020

This image raises critical questions about the nature of our connected world, and the complex ways individuals experience loneliness, isolation, and seclusion within a regulated response to the life-endangering pandemic COVID-19. Although the solitary subject is placed in a familiar surrounding, they face an immensity of space devoid of others. This scene is a critical reflection on our need for social interaction and travel.
Alma-Nouveau-Brunswick, Mai 2020
Beaudry, Daniel

Daniel BEAUDRY

Alma-Nouveau-Brunswick, May, 2020

This photo is an emblematic image of the village of Alma with its harbour at low tide.
On the Stormy Shores of Lake Ontario, Septembre 2019
Deanna Osmond, photo : Deannaosmondphotography

Deanna OSMOND

On the Stormy Shores of Lake Ontario, September, 2019

I chose this image as I felt this represents my world. Open space, nature, wild spaces, untamed land on Lake Ontario. Living in Ontario, we’re fortunate to be surrounded with a lot of land that remains untouched. This image was captured on the banks of Lake Ontario in the Greater Toronto area.
I wanted to show the natural side of this area. As Canadians we are so blessed to live in a country with so much nature. As our population grows the amount of untouched area is lessening. I chose this photo to submit as I wanted to show some of the natural area that still exists, even in such a highly populated area as the Toronto region.
Mystical Lands (West Coast, BC), Octobre 2017
Andrew W. Lawrence

Andrew W. LAWRENCE

Mystical Lands (West Coast, BC), October, 2017

Canada is a massive and varied land. It’s extremely diverse socially and physically with countless special places. The west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia is one of those places and it is home to Pacific Rim National Park. You don’t just visit this park, you “feel” it. From the waves crashing on rocky volcanic headlands and sandy beaches, to walking among the giant trees that are hundreds of years old in the old-growth forests, to seeing dozens of species of wildlife in the water, in the air, and on the land, you truly have to experience it to understand the spirit of this land. This photo represents not only the ancient First Nations history present in this mystical place, but also some of the important animals that live here, and the incredible physical beauty of the environment they live in.
Moncton avant le storm, Mai 2020
Amandine Du Poitou

Amandine DU POITOU

Moncton avant le storm, May, 2020

Moncton, a multifaceted welcoming city, a little chic, very choc (oh là!), passionately chiac, it gradually wins you over. A drama queen rocking to the rhythm of the Petitcodiac tidal bore, a flag flapping in the wind and the cross of the deportation recalling the dark hours of your past, your future is bright because of your modernism and the wealth of your cultural openness. Captivating day and night, under the sun, the snow or before the storm it is difficult to resist your sometimes Franco, sometimes Anglo charm. Herein lies Acadian subtlety!
Douglas Fir #12, Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver, BC., Mai 2020
Michael Easton

Michael EASTON

Douglas Fir #12, Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver, BC., May, 2020

At one time, before major logging, the mighty and large Douglas Fir (3 metres or more in diameter and 100 metres tall) was predominant everywhere in what is now called the Vancouver Regional District. It currently survives as much smaller second growth in tiny refugia such as Lighthouse Park.
Ça va bien aller, Mai 2020
Mike Patten

Mike PATTEN

Ça va bien aller, May, 2020

As an act of solidarity between citizens in Montreal, the phrase “ça va bien aller” accompanied by a drawing or painting of a rainbow, was displayed in many storefronts and windows of personal homes throughout the COVID-19 lockdown. This breath of positivity was a welcome message for many and a reminder that storms will pass. This particular photo was taken just a few steps from my home in the Verdun borough.
Deux mètres, Juin 2020
Debbie Cormier, photo : Beckie Cormier

Debbie CORMIER

Deux mètres, June, 2020

To make Deux mètres, I chose to highlight the beauty of the wide-open Canadian spaces and nature, which I had lost contact with since the beginning of lockdown. The two lines on the ground going as far as the eye can see represent social contact despite the distancing, the fact that despite these difficult times, we will stay together to combat isolation.
De l’autre côté de l’océan (Halifax / K’jipuktuk, Canada), Mai 2020
Marie-Soleil Provençal

Marie-Soleil PROVENÇAL

De l’autre côté de l’océan (Halifax / K’jipuktuk, Canada), May, 2020

(Photo sent to my family and my close friends) The quarantine redefined the distances between us. It’s as though an ocean suddenly isolated all of us, then linked us again. More than ever, we remain in contact with letters, packages, images, videos, messages and calls.
Encapsulated Sunset, 2020
Majid Jahan

Majid JAHAN

Encapsulated Sunset, 2020

This is an image of a sunset captured at a local beach in Ontario called Ipperwash Beach. The sun is seen encapsulated partially by dark dramatic clouds, which are backlit by the sun just before it sets which gives an impression of our world during these times where people are distancing and have to wear masks when they appear in public. The presence of the clouds and the geographical location of the sunset cause to the vibrant yellowish red sky.
Portrait of a Chinese Canadian in 2020, Juin 2020
Chun Hua Catherine Dong

Chun Hua Catherine DONG

Portrait of a Chinese Canadian in 2020, June, 2020

This image is a response to racial attacks against East-Asian Canadians due to Covid-19. During the pandemic, I rarely go out, but when I have to go out, I always wear a mask, big sunglasses, and a big hat to hide my Chinese physical characteristics to avoid being targeted. I am not afraid of physical attacks, but more verbal attacks because sometimes words hurt more than swords. I want to address this issue with humor because humor helps me process my fear and pain. I do hope all Canadians stand together in condemning racist acts and build a truly multicultural society that is grounded in inclusiveness and respect for diversity and human dignity we all deserve.
Nouveau quotidien, Mai 2020
Kassandra Reynolds

Kassandra REYNOLDS

Nouveau quotidien, May, 2020

Being at home is appreciating every moment, passing quality time with those who are dear to us, it’s also taking the time to observe what surrounds us, see the “sleeping woods” slowly wake around us in the spring to give way to summer and the one with which we share a new everyday existence: my duck “Quacko”.
Minos #4, Janvier 2020
Maxime Rheault

Maxime RHEAULT

Minos #4, January, 2020

This image is part of an open series of darkroom experimentations. Compositions made using everyday objects are exposed on photo paper using a single direct light. This image was chosen because it evokes transformation and the loss of bearings in these particular times.

France

Ici, un paradis, Mai 2020
Jennifer Orhelys

Jennifer ORHELYS

Ici, un paradis, May, 2020

During lockdown, I was in the country. To support my nearest and dearest who did not have the opportunity to have nature, I sent them my images as a form of resistance, or even resilience.
Ecran de sécurité (Marseille, Gare ferroviaire Saint Charles), Mars 2020
IAAAI, photomaton Rencontres d'Arles

IAAAI

Ecran de sécurité (Marseille, Gare ferroviaire Saint Charles), March, 2020

Lost in a suspended space-time where only the optic rustling of screens sets the rhythm here is a man kneeling as though begging to be spared from an invisible viral enemy.
At a distance from the living, even a little more alone in a strictly virtual and digital interactivity.
Day-0, 2020
Estelle Magnin, photo : Justine Arnal

Estelle MAGNIN

Day-0, 2020

This photograph was taken from my studio in Paris during the lockdown in 2020. It is part of a series, Home Theatre, begun in 2018. This project traces my implication in the outside and inside world. It is about the strength of the union of real life and dreams, and of the fine line between the two. Quarantine noticeably shrunk it.
La Vie en couleurs, Mars 2020
Adrien Nowac, photo : Lorraine Turci

Adrien NOWAK

La Vie en couleurs, March, 2020

I usually work for the press in Toulouse, in order to recount in images the events taking place in the city. Then, from one day to the next, everything stopped. No more activity in the streets, no more work for me, it was the unknown that started. To give a more optimistic vision of the deserted streets, I chose to add life to them with colourful silhouettes of people, waiting for life to come back.
Eline et Liya, Mars 2020
Mélanie Dornier

Mélanie DORNIER

Eline et Liya, March, 2020

A visual letter to my children,
Today even more so than yesterday, I cannot imagine what your future will be made of. How will you live on this planet, which we have constantly mistreated? The virus is here, we talk of protection against the invisible and lockdown. Nature, buzzing with excitement, breathes again. Our society suffocates us, it stops. Under glass, us, we play, and create our own dream world. We imagine our stories and create on our memory of this time standing still.
Gravity / Covid sidéral, Mai 2020
ManoLO Chrétien, photo : Pia Loro

ManoLo CHRÉTIEN

Gravity / Covid sidéral, May, 2020

This shot was taken on a May evening, when I was getting the breakfast table ready. The ambiance of the “sidereal void” in the neighbourhood, linked to lockdown, the round table, the place mat like the rings of Saturn, the bowls located like two isolated satellites, the atmosphere of spatial light with the idea of a moon at my window. Everything was in place by and for the loveliest stroke of luck. And incidentally: my father is a cosmonaut!
Revivre, Mai 2020
Anne-Sophie Coppin, photo : Fabien Rouire

Anne-Sophie COPPIN

Revivre, May, 2020

Behind the shutters, the sky is blue. Paris will come out of lockdown, cabin fever, go out? In the corner of the office, the carnal flowering of the peony shows the way, to live again.
Bienvenue en 2020 !, Mai 2020
Bluenn Layolle

Bluenn LAYOLLE

Bienvenue en 2020 !, May, 2020

I chose this photograph, taken very spontaneously in a supermarket during lockdown because for me it embodies the absurdity of the messages we now receive every day. I am convinced that such a phrase
(“Please keep your distances”) has a real impact on our psychology, despite the polite phrasing.
Clichés concentrés, 2020
Nanta Ranarison, photo : Xavier Granet

Nanta RANARISON

Clichés concentrés, 2020

In this image, I saw all the clichés that circulate about Paris, but I also saw the beauty that surrounds the everyday lives of Parisians.
Le silence, 2020
Frédéric Soltan

Frédéric SOLTAN

Le silence, 2020

This photo is part of a series taken during lockdown in Paris. It is 8 pm and many people appeared at their windows to applaud or salute healthcare workers. This young couple at the tope of a Parisian building looks surprised by a situation that will probably not be repeated in the neighbourhood.
Le Confinement, épisode n°30, Avril 2020
Jordane Prestrot - Le Confinement 40

Jordane PRESTROT

Le Confinement, épisode n°30, April, 2020

The series Le Confinement is made up of about forty “multiplied” self-portraits illustrating with humour, fantasy and strangeness the psychological impact of the situation of forced isolation that was ours, in France and elsewhere in the world. From April 1, 2020, to the end of lockdown, I produced a new image every day and shared it online like a serial. From a personal point of view personnel, helped me manage my anxiety and gave meaning to this new experiment; from a collective point of view, it gave me the chance to brighten up the everyday lives of my subscribers.
Huis clos, n.d.
Kathleen Meier

Kathleen MEIER

Huis clos, n.d.

Our living spaces influence our well-being. The imposed lockdown allowed us to make an important observation: that of understanding that in a context of seclusion, our cultural and social wealth also play important roles. The interior – whether it is that within us or that surrounding us – thus shows itself as essential for our mental well-being.
Livres en liberté, Mai 2020
Christian Berthault

Christian BERTHAULT

Livres en liberté, Mai 2020

Lockdown, less space, more time. Time to sort, reduce stock, set out, day after day, what to read: suitcase and books set out in the street, outside, invitation to an interior journey. Bookstores and libraries shut, self-service books, and sometimes people who ring the bell to thank you. An experiment to pursue in the post-lockdown world.
Winter Advertising, Mars 2020
Pascal Pérennec

Pascal PÉRENNEC

Winter Advertising, March, 2020

I feel a little out of it
I feel alone sometimes
Hanging back from the world
I think that it is necessary
Perhaps my way of evading it
I am not really with people
I don’t last long, in the end
I just brush their surfaces
It will lose my distance there
I might betray my flight
Silence, self-effacement
That suits me
The incertitude of the place
The melancholy of the moment
An interior fragility
The sentiment of the decor
The photo is a positioning.
Moret-sur-Loing, vue du Donjon sur l’Eglise Notre-Dame de la Nativité et le centre historique du village, Journées du Patrimoine, Mai 2020
Céline De Le Asuncion

Céline DE LA ASUNCION

Moret-sur-Loing, vue du Donjon sur l’Eglise Notre-Dame de la Nativité et le centre historique du village, Journées du Patrimoine, May, 2020

The church of Notre-Dame de la Nativité, whose large size in the centre of the small medieval village of Moret-sur-Loing – bearing witness to the rich history of this commune located a few kilometres from the Château de Fontainebleau – makes me think of a caravel: like the ones that set out to conquer the New World.
Youtopia, Mai 2020
Pyjproject

PYJPROJECT

Youtopia, May, 2020

Leaving each other the better to recreate each other
Separating the better to get back together
Beyond the moment
Beyond time
Over the ocean
Wild firmament
Whose docile foam hitches our lands
with its songs of the possible
Emancipating oneself from our architecture
Letting oneself be borne by the blue
And there renew our auguries
Pour y dévisager nos futurs
I Have Been here, Juin 2020
FR - 05 Cohen, Sarah

Sarah COHEN

I Have Been here, June, 2020

I wanted to send the universal, which someone could recognize themselves in and understand without having to talk about the situation explicitly. The void, the urban, an empty place people with souls, a place that can simply remind us that space and time are fictions that bring us to ourselves. Since I was there, I wanted to say, I Have Been Here, even though I am no one and no one was there. In the very heart of absence, there is always a presence. This sent image is a way of existing as we are “social animals”.
Amour, toujours, Juin 2020
Georges Lambert

George LAMBERT

Amour, toujours, June, 2020

Love has no age. One can experience it very young, true, unforgettable. It was the vacations, the left bank of Chicoutimi, she was seven years old. Today, visiting the Eiffel Tower and crossing the Champs de Mars in Paris. She is indeed there, she must be eighty-seven years old.
Le Louvre désert, Mai 2020
Fevronia Novac, photo : Marie Le Fol-Novac

Fevronia NOVAC

Le Louvre désert, May, 2020

This photo of the deserted Louvre must have been taken by many people, like me, who strolled to the Louvre, at the end of lockdown. While, during this distressing period, we experienced time like long Sundays, the Louvre courtyard must have experienced its lockdown like Tuesdays. At the same time, millions of people visited the museum online.
Psyk Eiffel, Mai 2020
Chane

CHANE

Psyk Eiffel, May, 2020

Alone on my roof, my version of the Iron Lady confined, icon of a Paris waiting for the return of
festive and cultural events.
Intermède, Juin 2020
Valentine Gentilleau

Valentine GENTILLEAU

Intermède, June, 2020

The interlude, that which temporarily interrupts an activity. Devoid of spatiotemporal markers. Only the silhouette reminds us of the restarting of everyday life. The rigidity of the geometric lines splits the image into several parts, evoking the barriers imposed by social distancing.
En-dehors, Juin 2020
Pascale de Rességuier

Pascale DE RESSÉGUIER

En-dehors, June, 2020

In creative weightlessness, shared emotions, the ballad of a word on a melody, a virtual encounter in a moment of intense life, the outline of an opportunity towards a completely different future.
Dehors, Mai 2020
A.S. Journée-Duez

A. S. JOURNÉE-DUEZ

Dehors, May, 2020

During confinement, in a working-class neighbourhood of one of the regions of France the most affected by the pandemic, one evening beauty returned. Then the outside no longer frightened us, but was just magnificence.
Amour-en-cage, Mai 2020
Hélène Halatcheff

Hélène HALATCHEFF

Amour-en-cage, May, 2020

While walking in Pigalle, I stopped in front of this fine hotel door “sewn together” by a large chain. This vision concentrated all that I was feeling at that moment: the stopping of possibilities, journeys, encounters, exchanges. On the door, Madame and Monsieur have to content themselves with a chaste look, while above them, carefree children dance.
L'Échappée, Juin 2020
Manon Weiser

Manon WEISER

L'Échappée, June, 2020

This photo is a ferrotype taken at the beginning of the end of lockxown. I could finally get out my mobile laboratory and walk in my native Vercors. After having spent two months of lockdown linked to the world via screens, I felt the need to get back to basics: to feel nature, breathe and take the time to photograph. What better than the wet collodion process dating from 1850 to make a break with the folly of our present-day society.
Lecture au soleil, Mars 2020
Matthieu Fournel

Matthieu FOURNEL

Lecture au soleil, March, 2020

I chose this image for its tranquillity and serenity.
Lockdown was certainly a difficult period and sometimes distressing, but above all an opportunity to find oneself alone and to enjoy a new-found calm.
Honneur à Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, Mai 2020
Claudie Gest, photo : Fash-Photo-Mobile

Claudie GEST

Honneur à Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, May, 2020

Whatever the international health circumstances, may the link uniting France and Canada last forever and ever. Let’s follow in the footsteps of Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. Baptised in Neuville sur Vanne, he cofounded Ville- Marie (now Montreal in Quebec) on May 17, 1642, despite the distance and all the obstacles.