Through drawing and assemblage, the exhibition explores the creative gesture of deconstructing to reconstruct
5 septembre 2026 • WestmountMag.ca
From September 3 to October 4, 2026, the exhibition Je me livre by artist Brigite Normandin offers a subtle encounter between drawing, collage and assemblage at the Arts Sutton art centre gallery. Presented as a reflection on material memory and the ability of objects to carry stories, it brings together works and artists’ books created from old papers, printed fragments and volumes destined to disappear.
An experience that is both visual and meditative, the exhibition reminds us that traces of time, far from being mere signs of wear, can become the starting point for a new kind of poetry.
The public is invited to the opening reception on Sunday, September 6, at 2 p.m., to discover this world in which neglected pages regain substance, value and voice.
Paper as living memory
At the heart of Brigite Normandin’s approach is the worn book: one with yellowed, torn or annotated pages, or one destined for recycling. The artist does not seek to restore these books to their original form. Instead, she opens them to new possibilities, drawing on their typographic traces, textures and imperfections to create original images.
Printed words, sometimes incomplete or faded by time, become visual elements as much as markers of memory. Shifted, layered, cut or isolated, they escape their original context to take part in a different language. Paper is no longer merely a support: it becomes subject, landscape, skin, archive and a territory for creation.
This reinterpretation of forgotten materials gives each piece a sensitive dimension. Folds, tears and marks left by use are not concealed. On the contrary, they contribute to the identity of the work and remind us that all material retains part of its history.
Drawing as an intimate thread
In these compositions, ink drawing is expressed with great delicacy. Its organic lines appear to move between layers of paper, like a personal form of writing that connects the fragments. They introduce a human presence into the assemblages without necessarily telling a story directly.
The black of the ink interacts with touches of gold, printed pages and irregular surfaces. These contrasts create a balance between fragility and density, silence and movement, erasure and revelation. Normandin’s works invite viewers to slow down, look closely at the details and imagine the stories contained within these transformed materials.
The public is invited to the opening reception on Sunday, September 6, at 2 p.m., to discover this universe in which abandoned pages regain presence, value and voice.
The title Je me livre also plays on several meanings. It evokes both the act of revealing oneself, the book as an object and the gesture of freeing material enclosed by its past. By reusing documents destined to be forgotten, the artist gives them an unexpected continuity.
A practice of reconstruction
Brigite Normandin’s approach is founded on close attention to what has already been lived. Drawing, assemblage, salvaged objects and papers bearing traces of use all inform a practice in which deconstruction becomes a way of bringing new forms to light.
Fragments of bodies, memories, objects and stories meet in her work without attempting to form a fixed image. Each creation instead becomes a space of resonance between the intimate and the collective, between what has been and what may yet come to be.
Je me livre offers an experience that is both visual and meditative. The exhibition reminds us that traces of time, far from being mere signs of wear, can become the starting point for a new kind of poetry.
Brigite Normandin – Je me livre
Arts Sutton
7 Academy Street, Sutton, QC
450 538-2563
info@artssutton.com
Images courtesy of Centre d’art Arts Sutton
Arts Sutton is an art centre dedicated to presenting and promoting contemporary visual arts. It fosters a space of encounter and reflection for professional artists from the regional, national, and international scenes.
