Public art that provokes reactions in REM stations

An intriguing spectacle attracts the attention of travellers in the pedestrian tunnel connecting the Panama bus terminal to the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) station in Brossard. Soaring music draws the eye toward an installation that runs along one of the corridor’s walls. Videos showing scenes from nature sit alongside frosted windows where exotic plants can be seen. And suddenly, human-like silhouettes come to life, very slowly, behind the semi-transparent glass.

Passersby stop. They observe the scene, doubtful. They wonder what this strange installation is that makes them slow down, at this rush hour of returning home, on a weekday.

Some visitors approach, their phones in hand. Several touch the frosted windows, following the movements of the creatures behind the luminous wall. Realizing that they are indeed human beings, curiosity gives way to astonishment.

“Oh my, there’s someone behind the glass! It’s beautiful. Usually, I’m in a hurry when I pass by here, but this time, I can’t leave,” says Uwera Munyakaz in front of the unusual spectacle that attracts a group of passers-by.

The artists behind this work mingle with the crowd and unravel the mystery: it is one of the public art installations created by students in three REM stations — Du Quartier and Panama, in Brossard, as well as at the central station, in Montreal.

CDPQ Infra, which operates the electric train network that was commissioned a year ago, created this public art program in collaboration with the four Montreal universities. The project is now in its second year. The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) coordinated the deployment of these three works as part of a multidisciplinary workshop that took place between April and August 2024.

“It’s a course that involved so much work. We didn’t have a vacation this summer, but we’re proud of the progress our students have made,” says Nelly-Ève Rajotte, professor at UQAM’s School of Design.

She supervised the dozen students from the four universities who took part in the project with her colleague Caroline Laurin-Bocage, from the UQAM Dance Department. Jonathan Villeneuve, co-founder and co-general director of the Ateliers Belleville, accompanied the apprentice artists throughout the creative process.

“We wanted to place the students in a real context of public art creation. They faced the same constraints as professionals,” explains Caroline Laurin-Bocage.

Freedom framed

The three teams of artists enrolled in arts, architecture and design programs (at UQAM, Université de Montréal, Concordia and McGill) had to collaborate with each other, with their supervisors and with CDPQ Infra to design their projects.

“Art students are attracted by the freedom of creation, but in the public space, you can’t do everything you want,” explains Nelly-Ève Rajotte.

It’s complicated to create a public work of art. Especially as a team, with apprentice artists from various disciplines. You have to respect a budget. Attract the attention of the public, who have other things to do than stop to admire a work, in this era where people are stimulated everywhere, all the time. You also have to find a consensus between all the partners, who have their own vision of what a work of art is.

Artists must find a balance between the importance of not going unnoticed and respecting the sensibilities of the public. An example: when the Dutya spectator was shocked by what she perceived as the nudity of the dancers who improvised their choreographies behind the frosted windows.

“I don’t see the need for this work. If I come with my grandchildren, they will ask me if people are naked,” said this grandmother named Carmelle.

She can rest assured: the two dance students, Léonie Bélanger and Claire Pearl, had put on perfectly respectable outfits. They embodied plant creatures that mingle with the plants exposed to the gaze of passers-by.

Urban nature

The project aims to contrast the concrete and resolutely urban aspect of the tunnel, located a stone’s throw from Highway 10, and the calming nature that emerges from the installation.

“We wanted to create a dreamlike space that transports visitors,” explains Lila Geneix, one of the creators of the work. Ec[h]o. Passage of the living. Simon-Olivier Marchand, an industrial design student, designed the large cubicle made of wood and glass, in addition to composing the music.

The two other installations that brighten up REM stations also have nature in urban areas as their theme. At Du Quartier station, a multidisciplinary trail called Oxygen connects the station to the large urban park of Brossard. At the central station, the work Woven and intertwined trajectories features thousands of pieces of recycled fabric wrapped in wool. These “rhizomes” (stems of perennial plants) made of textiles of various colors and shapes, suspended from the ceiling of the station, symbolize the human diversity of the metropolis.

The works are to remain in the three REM stations until October 15. The live art performances associated with these installations took place over four days in August, but no additional performances are planned at this time.

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