Mélanie Myers expands the aesthetic and interpretive possibilities of drawing to represent our mediated relationships to landscape and the built environment. Somewhere between large-format drawing, sculpture and installation, Myers' settings highlight the tensions that emerge when sharing a space, whether natural or human-made. The landscape, devoid of human figures, oscillates between background and foreground, set and protagonist, to articulate the body’s relationship to space. This research project examines the erection of monumental photogenic works from the 1970s to the present day. They are altered, represented in other landscapes, so as to observe what remains of an art object’s materiality and meaning when placed in an intact nature. By multiplying the possible meanings and points of view of a site or monument, or natural or controlled environment, Myers' work encourages us to take a stand within the structures, systems and figures that link us to the land.
Mélanie Myers lives and works in Gatineau. She holds an MFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD, 2013), and a BFA from the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO, 2008). Her work touches on various fields of interest: landscape, sculpture, comfort and duplication, which she approaches critically through the mediums of drawing and installation. Her projects have been supported by provincial and federal arts councils and shown in several galleries and centres across Canada, including Division Gallery (Toronto), Forest City Gallery (London), L'Écart (Rouyn-Noranda) and SAW Gallery (Ottawa). She has participated in residencies at Centre Bang (Chicoutimi) and Maison Scott-Fairview (Gatineau). She currently teaches drawing at UQO. In addition to her studio practice, she works on public art and theatre set design projects.
