Louis-Comtois and Pierre-Ayot Prize | Nadia Myre and Myriam Dion rewarded

Nadia Myre and Myriam Dion respectively won the Louis-Comtois and Pierre-Ayot awards on Friday. Rewards of $ 7,500 and $ 5,000 were presented to the two visual artists by the City of Montreal and the Association of Contemporary Art Galleries (AGAC) during a ceremony organized at the Grand Quai of the port of Montreal, as part of the of the Papier Fair.

Eric Clement
Press

The Louis-Comtois Prize rewards Nadia Myre, aged 47, who has distinguished herself for the past 15 years. He underlines the quality of his production in the field of contemporary art in Montreal. Interdisciplinary artist, member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, Nadia Myre says she is “always happy” that her work is recognized and appreciated. The competition was fierce this year for the Louis-Comtois Prize. She was a finalist with the famous painter Janet Werner and the Mohawk multimedia artist Skawennati, also very well known on the international scene.

Nadia Myre is present at Art Mature at the moment, and until December 18, Eyes Watching and Other Work, works exhibited as part of the 26^e art gallery season. She practically did all of them in October. This shows how productive the Algonquin artist is. “It’s true, but I’m still working,” she said. Always alert, doing research! ”

The most striking work is [In]tangible Tangles, a series of forty images of beaded moccasins from Native North American tribes and from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington.

[In]tangible Tangles evokes, of course, the victims of residential schools. For the Mature Art gallery, these photos call into question “the appropriation and conservation by museum institutions of artefacts from indigenous communities, while recalling the contribution of photography to colonial history”.

Nadia Myre also exhibits a video of a maple leaf flag flapping in the wind on a friend’s boat off Port Alberni (Vancouver Island). A flag, part of which is frayed and that she filmed before putting the image in synchronism with the same image but reversed, in an off-centered spatial symmetry, which gives the impression of seeing a bird (an eagle?), in the center, whose legs are shackled and which cannot, therefore, fly away. Tethered (attached, in English) thus deals with a Canadian symbol that has been undermined in recent times, in particular half-masted because of the topicality of these anonymous graves of Aboriginal children discovered in the country.

Nadia Myre also exhibits Coming to End, strip of ceramic beads in which the Algonquin expression appears kidanish kwass meaning “ coming to end ” Where “ the end is coming “. An ambiguous expression since we do not really know if the end means the extinction of the natives or the end of the violence and discrimination to which they have been subjected. The photo of an old scale – the artwork Eyes Watching – which does not strike a balance also evokes this quest for justice by native Canadians.

The last work, Coda Construction (Revisited), is a follow-up to work on codes that began in 2004. The symbol with two L’s means “I don’t understand”. A beadwork woven on a theme once again linked to the struggle of indigenous communities to regain their place on unceded Canadian territory.

Myriam Dion

For her part, Myriam Dion received the Pierre-Ayot Prize as we celebrate the 25^e anniversary of this award bearing the name of the Montreal artist who died accidentally in 1995. This award underlines the quality of the production of an artist under 35 who has become known for her delicate work of cutting up newspaper paper. X-Acto knife which allows it, with decorative patterns, to evoke the notion of time and to give a new representation of current events.

Myriam Dion had been applying for this award for years. “It’s a prize that you get to know when you’re young and that speaks to us a lot,” said Press Myriam Dion, who loves her handmade work, which she executes with precision, taking her time, while many contemporary artists are now working with laser cutting.

Since his paper curtain exhibited at the Maison du développement durable, in Montreal, in 2013, the artist has held group exhibitions, fairs and a solo at the Division gallery, at the end of his master’s degree in 2017. With a fairly slow production rate, she still manages to sell her creations regularly thanks to her gallery owner. “With the kind of work I do, it’s a long time before I can do an exhibition,” she says. But now I think I’m ripe! ”

A protégé of Pierre Trahan, this artist who celebrated her 32th birthday last Sunday said to be privileged. “I am well surrounded by my gallery which encourages my work, supports me, gives me his impressions on what I do,” she says. Pierre also helped me finance my recent residency in Brooklyn at the NARS Foundation. And I participated this year in Alphabetic Image, a group show at Arsenal New York. My first contact with the New York art scene. So, I am very grateful. ”

Myriam Dion is currently working on several public art competitions under the 1% policy. In particular, a work for the north entrance to Laurier Park, a large aluminum sculpture in three parts. “This is new to me too,” she said. Think about my work in 3D. And with something other than newspaper! It really challenges me. ”