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Isabelle Hayeur

Isabelle Hayeur is known for her photographs and her experimental videos. She has also realized public art commissions, several site-specific installations and artists’ books. Her work is situated within a critical approach to the environment, urban development and to social conditions. Since the late 1990s, she has been probing the territories she goes through to understand how our contemporary civilizations take over and fashion their environments. She is concerned about the evolution of places and communities in the neoliberal sociopolitical context we currently live in. Her works have been shown at the National Gallery of Canada, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in Berlin, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, Tampa Museum of Art, Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York, Casino Luxembourg Forum d’art contemporain, Today Art Museum in Beijing and Les Rencontres internationales de la photographie à Arles. She has also actively participated in international artists’ residencies, notably at the Rauschenberg Residency, Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology, The Studios of Key West, the International Studio & Curatorial Program, A Studio in the Woods / Tulane University, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Wall House #2 Groninger Museum, amongst others.
 
 

Project Statement

This artistic research stems from a personal experience. For over twenty years, I have lived along the banks of a polluted river. I have closely observed the transformations of this watercourse, noting changes in its ecosystems and the disappearance of certain animal species that once thrived there. My goal was to create a body of work that bears witness to these human-induced upheavals. These photographs immerse viewers in these environments, probing our relationship with water and aquatic ecosystems while emphasizing their vital importance. To date, I have documented various bodies of water across North America, capturing both polluted environments and healthy ecosystems. While the project primarily focuses on the deterioration of aquatic ecosystems, I have also photographed aquatic plants, salt marshes and intertidal wetlands in various regions. These ecosystems face numerous natural and environmental threats, including hurricanes, floods, algal blooms, rising sea levels and coastal erosion. Though fragile, they are resilient. The clarity and captivating beauty of these submerged worlds remind us that the natural environment can still play a central role in reconnecting humanity with nature, countering the disenchantment rooted in capitalist modernity.

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