SOCIAL CURRENTS
Monologue de la forêt
September 25 – December 12, 2026
Artists
Béchard Hudon
Curator
Marie-Hélène Leblanc
Overview
The ancient forests of the Outaouais, observed, listened to, and explored over several months by Béchard Hudon, represent not only complex and delicate ecosystems, but also research grounds that call for humility and respect. These forests are disordered spaces where the ground, strewn with decaying wood—a promise of shelter for countless species—becomes the link that transforms death into new life. They harbor several types of interspecies habitats, making them both essential and vulnerable. Through a unique experience of these forests, the artists aim to bear witness to the splendor and fragility of all these habitats.
Acknowledgements
Galerie UQO would like to thank the researchers and professors Sylvain Delagrange, Frédérik Doyon and Audrey Maheu of the Institute of Temperate Forest Sciences (ISFORT) for their collaboration on this project. The gallery is also grateful for the financial assistance it received from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, through the Outaouais Territorial Partnership Program, for hosting the artists in residence and for producing the audio documentary, and also as part of art dissemination in Québec program.
Béchard Hudon would like to thank the staff at Galerie UQO for hosting their research and creation residency and for their help in making this exhibition a reality: Marie-Hélène Leblanc, Jessica Minier, Sabrina Bouchard, Maxime B. Huneault, and their collaborators, Marie-Hélène Frenette-Assad and Simon Guibord. Thanks also to Gentiane Bélanger and the Foreman Art Gallery team. Special thanks to Marie-Hélène Leblanc for her boundless enthusiasm and support. The artists would also like to thank the researchers at ISFORT, Sylvain Delagrange, Frédérik Doyon and Audrey Maheu, for their guidance, as well as Dominique Laflamme and Martin Poitras for providing access to the forests. They are also grateful to the Centre Sagamie and Émili Dufour for the photo printing, to PRIM for its creative production assistance, to Marianne Lévesque for the video colourization, and finally to the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for their financial support.
Produced and put into circulation by Galerie UQO.
Artists
Catherine Béchard and Sabin Hudon have been working as an artist duo for over 25 years. Their work explores the interstitial spaces associated with inhabited territories, as well as the alternative or parallel temporalities of all living things. Attentive listening and what escapes immediate perceptions of the world are at the heart of their practice. The collective is particularly interested in the notion of habitat and micro-habitat, focusing on the unique characteristics and infinite configurations found in environments inhabited by different forms of life. The artists explore the sonic materiality of urban, forest, and aquatic ecosystems to draw attention to the complexity of the interactions that constantly buzz within the depths of reality. By scrutinizing the space-time of places inhabited by living beings, the artists seek to raise awareness of the complexity of a diverse environment and its myriad coexistences, in order to reveal a world both within and beyond the realm of our usual hearing and sight. Their creative projects take the form of installations, sculptures, sound works, videos, and photographs. Their works have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in several cities across Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Germany, Croatia, and China.
Curators
Marie-Hélène Leblanc, who holds a Ph.D. in Arts Studies and Practices from the Université du Québec à Montréal (2024), has served as director and curator of the Galerie UQO since 2015 and as an associate professor at the School of Arts and Culture (UQO) since 2025. Her curatorial practice has led her to produce some forty projects presented in various institutions in Quebec, Canada, and Europe. She is active within a research chair and team and has served on numerous boards of directors, committees, and commissions. In recent years, she has received, among other honors, the University of Quebec’s Innovation in Management Award (2025), as well as the Excellence Award (2025) and the Emerging Artist Award (2018) from the Société des musées du Québec. Viewing the exhibition as a medium, she defines herself as a curator, exhibition maker, author, practitioner, and researcher.
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