Cynthia G.Renard
Saturday, August 26, 1 – 5pm: Paper Kite Making Workshop
A Sperm Whale called Tryphon
Tryphon is a sperm whale who died 14 years ago in the Saint-Lawrence River, entangled in fishing gear.
They were 60 years old when they died.
They were well-known by sea biologists and navigators.
The first time they were seen was in 1991, the first year they came alone during the summer.
But as the years passed, they came accompanied by other male friends.
Every animal is a person; they develop their adventures, experiences, tastes and other things; they are not a mass nor a machine. They have memory, intelligence, culture and feelings.
—Cynthia G.Renard
Cynthia G.Renard’s large-scale sculpture Tryphon is an urgent call to understand and recognize the fragility of our ecosystems. The artist recognizes the need to develop empathetic and equitable relationships to other living beings, and to care about them and their futures.
In preparation for their Biennale installation, G.Renard sent out an open call for young students to across the Bonavista Peninsula to contribute their own drawings of whales. The artist also invited them to think of whales as mutually beneficial to their well-being. These drawings—over 200 of them—are gathered around Tryphon as friends and protectors. The installation intends to recognize and honour all of the creatures who share the seas with us.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Cynthia G.Renard teaches at Concordia University, Tiohtià:ke Montreal, where they live and work. Their multilayered practice brings together political activism, identity issues, ecological concerns and the animal imaginary through a broad range of techniques. Their work includes large format paintings, paper sculptures, costumes, sound sculptures, and performance. Their repertoire draws as much from the visual language of art history as it does from popular culture, including comics, children’s book illustrations, folk tales, decorative arts, feminine crafts, burlesque theatre, and satirical cartoons. G.Renard received an MFA from Goldsmiths College, London, UK (1998). Major solo exhibitions of their work have been organized at Musée de Rimouski, QC (2022), Darling Foundry, Montreal (2020), Musée d’art de Joliette, QC (2017); the Uma Certa Falta de Coerencia, Porto, Portugal (2015); Esker Foundation, Calgary (2014); and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2005).