Life, the city | Pascale Scissorhands

Our journalist travels around Greater Montreal to talk about people, events or places that make the heart of their neighborhood beat.

“Friends, come and see, there are polar bears outside. Come to see ! “, said last Monday in amazement, little Clovis to the comrades in his group from the window of their daycare.

This winter, the people of Villeray saw ice sculptures of animals appear as if by magic on Rue De Castelnau. After those in front of the Ferlucci café, others took shape in front of the Sainte-Cécile church, thus adding magic to the cold of January.

The work of Edward Scissorhands ? Rather that of the artist Pascale L’Italien.

“I really underestimated people’s reaction,” says the sculptor, who nevertheless remembers how, as a child, she was impressed by the snowy works of her uncle from Ottawa. “In the eyes of a child, animals are enormous,” she emphasizes.

Two years ago, Pascale started making sculptures in the backyard of her apartment on rue Lajeunesse, simply because she had easy access to snow. “My owner was so excited that I decided to make it on the terrace of my friends at Café Ferlucci,” she says.

Last December, she took advantage of a snowfall to transform flakes into dogs, which melted, but were then added to a penguin and a seal.

Here again, the magic worked beyond the artist’s hopes, so much so that she decided to take advantage of another storm to sculpt two polar bears in front of the Sainte-Cécile church.

As we live in the neighborhood, it’s really beautiful to see people spontaneously stopping to admire the snowy beasts with curiosity. Note that the two colossi are a street corner from Sainte-Cécile primary school and two early childhood centers.

The sculptures are beautiful to see, but they are also the source of spontaneous social interactions. During our meeting with Pascale L’Italien, a man with a bear patch on his coat approached her. “I work for Boréal beers. Could I take photos with cans? “, he said.

Winter in us

When the idea for this article was born one evening after school, Pascale L’Italien was taking care of her bears while chatting with the mother of little Clovis cited at the beginning of the text. Another nice coincidence since Marie-Hélène Roch – that’s her name – is an artist-researcher who founded the Hiver dans nous project (which our collaborator Rose-Aimée Automne T. Morin has already told you about^⁠1).

The one who undertook a doctorate in arts studies and practice is interested in the “humanity of urban winter”. In 2021, she notably supported the Coalition of Friends of Jarry Park in the implementation of the ephemeral forest at Jarry Park.

For Marie-Hélène Roch, snow is a privilege. She wants people to develop a Nordic sensitivity instead of railing against winter.

“Snow is fleeting, especially in the city. It can appear or disappear in a few hours, which makes it at once enigmatic, precious and magical,” she explains, which embodies in all its splendor the artistic gesture of Pascale L’Italien. “It’s local public art that has the powerful effect of bringing us together and calming us collectively. It is also an invitation to slow down and take the time to stop. »

“Animals in snow are naive art, especially for children, but so much the better if it can raise awareness of their ephemeral nature,” says Pascale L’Italien with humility.

She is proof that you have to embrace winter in your own way to love it. “It’s since I started playing with snow that I’ve enjoyed winter. »

Take nothing for granted

In her artistic practice, Pascale L’Italien became known for her sculptures in the shape of food or dishes, which she sold to several restaurants, including Fleurs & Cadeaux. You should know that she has worked in the restaurant industry since the age of 14.

It was at the start of the pandemic, in shock at seeing her community cease its activities, that the artist began to create products that had a nostalgic resonance, whether it was a Pogo, a Cherry Blossom or a bag open from Party Mix.

In this period of inflation, we see the hard way, let’s say that food, like snow, is another thing that we have perhaps taken too much for granted…

Dreaming of snow

An artist always wants his art to have scope and meaning, underlines Pascale L’Italien.

But her ice sculptures give her contact with people that she doesn’t have in her studio. “I didn’t expect people to stop me so much, and it’s only for positive things. »

Pascale L’Italien would have liked to do more snow sculptures, but last Thursday she underwent shoulder surgery which will require convalescence. “I’ll get back on track next year,” she promises.

In the meantime, Marie-Hélène Roch allows herself to dream. “What if artists intervened in snow removal operations on our sidewalks? »

The idea is launched.