Thanks to guest curator Bernard Blistène, whose eye was quickly drawn to the beauty of the Limelette site, the exhibition titled De natura rerum opens up to the vast and inescapable theme of nature and the evocation of Gaia, our Mother Earth.
We felt that, when dealing with this important subject, it was crucial not to go into issues of global warming, which every passing day recalls, but to escape, through the eyes of artists, and gaze with them at the beauty of the universe. The artworks, displayed across the three floors of the head office, take us on a journey, from bottom to top, revealing the secrets of underground life, the inalienable power of minerals, the expanse of the landscape with its skyline, the magic of flowers, the magnificence of menacing clouds when the earth meets the sky, and the quest for infinity and its mysteries.
The various paintings, sculptures, photographs and drawings all explore and interpret nature in subtle combination with elements from the park surrounding the building, notably with the play of light and shadow emanating from the plants, the trickling of water from the ponds, the long-trimmed lines of the hedges, and the imposing majesty of the trees in the photographs commissioned from Rodney Graham and exhibited in the boardroom.
The curator's idea of inviting employees to hang an artwork in their office that echoes the De natura rerum exhibition has not only opened up a dialogue among everyone, but also broadened the impact of this exhibition, which seeks to give us a breath of fresh air and allow a moment of escape.