Attractions - Territoire, Joanne Poitras

Over time, the spikes will open, allowing their characteristic downy fluff to drift to the floor. This slow process, unfolding within space, questions our relationship with time while addressing the presence of invasive plants that threaten native species.

Joanne Poitras’s practice is diverse, rooted in materiality, manual labor, the ephemeral, and the intangible. She seeks to create encounters between natural and social references, engaging with an intimate realm. Foraging is an integral part of her work; it is an activity situated in time and occupying open space. She draws upon the collective and popular culture to highlight the forms of vitality that inhabit a place and shape the history of a territory, a community, and, more broadly, human beliefs regarding eternity. Through her work, she aims to resonate with the contemporary world and bear witness to human nature.

Joanne Poitras is a visual artist originally from Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Her practice, encompassing drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and installation, explores materiality, the memory of places, and our relationship with the land. Active on the art scene since the 1980s, she has exhibited her work in Quebec, across Canada, and internationally, while also playing an active role in developing the visual arts in her region.