Samuel Roy-Bois: Improbable and Ridiculous

Credit:
Samuel Roy-Bois
Ghetto, 2006
Installation
Photo: Farzad

What if we were talking about an uninhabitable architecture and a public bedroom—it would indeed seem improbable and ridiculous, wouldn’t it? Yet that is precisely what artist Samuel Roy-Bois boldly offers us. The Musée d’art contemporain presents Samuel Roy-Bois - Improbable and Ridiculous from May 27 to August 20, 2006.

“Uninhabit”

Present on the visual arts scene for a decade now, Samuel Roy-Bois has made a name in recent years for the whimsy, rigour and intelligence of his work. For his first museum show, the artist has produced two installations—Satellites and Ghetto (2006)—a series of large drawings, and… a new word he has coined, “uninhabit,” which he explains as “the fact of feeling outside a world that is nonetheless familiar to us.”

“No way in other than with our eyes”

The first installation, Satellites, consists of two architectural modules with large windows that provide a sort of access for visitors, but only with their eyes. The modules rotate, giving new meaning to the idea of mobile architecture. The second installation, Ghetto, consists of a box, likewise windowed, the inside surface of which is covered entirely by a mattress. Unlike Satellites, this work invites the visitor to dive in and experience an inner space that is both private yet open to the public. A series of large drawings completes the presentation. Although they give an impression of familiarity as urban architecture, they have actually sprung straight from the artist’s imagination. As curator Gilles Godmer observes: “At the core of these uncommon, disconcerting works, the question of habitable space immediately comes to the fore, elicited by various incongruities, ambiguities and paradoxes that reveal a certain discomfort.”  

All in all, an exhibition for those who wonder about our built environment and believe that we urgently need to give it proper consideration.

Samuel Roy-Bois is a multidisciplinary artist who is also active as a musician, performer and independent curator. A graduate of Université Laval, where he has also taught, and Concordia University, where he earned an M.F.A., Roy-Bois originally explored sculpture before turning to the architectural dimension of installation and its relationship with the viewer. He has shown his work in many solo and group exhibitions in Québec and abroad (Lausanne, Mexico City), including Le Monologue at Galerie Articule and the Québec City Manif d’art II (2003), and Faire l’indépendance at Montréal’s Quartier Éphémère (2005).

Catalogue

A 24-page catalogue accompanies the exhibition. It contains an essay by the curator, Gilles Godmer, a biobibliography and reproductions of the in situ installation. It may be purchased for $11.95 at the museum’s Olivieri bookstore or Librairie ABC Livres d’art, or from your local bookseller.

Meet the artist

Samuel Roy-Bois will meet the public on Friday, May 26 at 5 p.m., just before the official opening. The meeting will take place in French.