Musée Lumière

Empty lot by Ottawa Street, Montréal, March 2008



A museum of light. A small wooden construction "floating" on the snow in an empty lot in old Montréal. The glowing white snow provided the theme for the museum. But it also provided a time-frame, for the museum would be dismantled after the melting of the snow would cause it to "land."



The interior of the museum was shaped like a spiral along which were displayed three "artworks," all having light as their medium.



The first of these works was a small circular window, a glass "iris" with a metal "pupil" consisting of a combination lock.



The second work consisted of a fenced-off window-cone protruding outwards from the spiral. Attached to the extremity of the cone was a back-lit photograph depicting an adjacent derelict hallway frequently used as a shelter by local homeless. In front of the photograph, midway down the cone, printed on Plexiglas, hung a small text quoting a website advertising new lofts for sale on a nearby street:

Light is a basic necessity of life. Here on William Street, near the water, the light pours in. The brilliantly designed warehouse-style windows and thoughtful use of materials create the kind of space you dream about.



The third and last work, located in the central chamber of the museum, consisted of a camera obscura in which the adjacent street was projected onto the soles of a pair of old shoes.




Musée Lumière was produced during an artist residency at the Darling Foundry, Quartier Éphémère.