Emergence – Centre d’excellence artistique de l’Ontario

The Centre d’excellence artistique de l’Ontario presents a selection of works by senior students (grades 11 and 12) in the Visual and Media Arts concentration at école secondaire publique De La Salle.

Despite the unique, varied, and individual experiences of our daily lives, a major event has had an impact on all of us for the past three years: the COVID-19 pandemic. The artists in this exhibition were asked to reflect, through artistic practice, on their experiences of this situation on both macroscopic and microscopic levels.

The variety of works that have emerged from this reflection are a testament to the complex and diverse experiences of these strange years. Yet, there are common themes that echo through the works, such as isolation, the loss of childhood, and recurring questions about perception and identity. The emotions that emerge find their place in our memories - anger, comfort, weariness, and confusion.

By leaving space for teenagers to self-censor, furtively or with reproach, the exhibition wants to reveal truths deliberately kept secret, controlled to limit apparent weaknesses, or simply ignored sources of discomfort.

We invite you to discover all the works in the exhibition which can be seen in the Jackson Café display cases, the alcove near elevator 2 on Level 1 and in the Sky Lounge on Level 3.

Image: Audrey Tucker, Éclaircissement cathartique [Cathartic Enlightenment], 2022-23, mixed media. Courtesy of the artist.