From discovered classic newspapers and painted by hand designs, Myriam Dion composes remarkably detailed collages. Recognized for reimagining newspapers into sculptural, geometric works, the Montréal-based artist (beforehand) has lately begun experimenting with a spread of discovered supplies, like gouache-painted samples of vintage textile patterns and pages from previous backyard books.
The tales Dion chooses to focus on typically revolve round ladies and their accomplishments. “It is interesting to see how women are documented in the media,” she says, “especially at a time when newspapers were written by men for men and how this evolves and sometimes regresses depending on the subjects,” the artist says.
Via a painstaking means of chopping and weaving tiny strips of fabric, Dion adheres gold leaf and provides drawing and portray particulars. “I also include folding techniques that allow me to create relief and a textile look to the paper,” she says. “Drawing allows me to develop patterns through repetition and is conducive to larger installations.”
The artist presently has work on view in Timelines, her solo exhibition at Arsenal Up to date in New York Metropolis, which emphasizes her curiosity in milestones like ladies’s labor rights and suffrage all through the twentieth century, particularly within the U.S.
“These themes are expressed through headlines in a dated language as evocative as the homespun crafts that Dion elevates,” says a gallery assertion. “By exploiting the metaphoric potential of ephemera, she underscores the vulnerability of these rights while offering a timely reminder of their importance.”
Dion has lately turn out to be fascinated by darning samplers, which like different embroidery samplers, have been traditionally used to showcase one’s data and abilities with totally different stitches. When it comes to darning, a way of mending, the patterns typically mimicked totally different weaves or knitting to point out that the sampler’s maker was able to mending a wide range of materials.
“These are objects rich in know-how and history—they are magnificent and very inspiring for me, both formally and conceptually,” Dion says. “These objects evoke repair and care, which give a second life to damaged fabrics. They are linked to women, indeed: traditional crafts and artisanal virtuosity, elements to which I am sensitive and which greatly influence my creative process.”
Dion is especially drawn to the samplers’ geometric traits, which she incorporates into her personal compositions. Patterns and floral motifs intertwine in meticulously detailed items, typically reworking into ornate framing gadgets for intimately scaled images of girls snipped from the newspaper.
The artist lately gained a fee for a big public art work impressed by darning samplers, which shall be put in in a brand new hospital in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Québec, in 2027. One other public work shall be put in on the Santa-Cabrini Hospital in Montréal subsequent summer season.
Timelines continues by December 14. Discover extra on Dion’s web site and Instagram.
