Phobos Deimos
Two moons orbit Mars—Phobos and Deimos, Fear and Terror—children of War and Discord, according to Greek mythology. One drifts farther and farther away, destined to vanish into silence and void. The other spirals inward, orbit after orbit, on a collision course with light.
Some, like Deimos, manage to keep their demons at a distance. They move alongside shadows that hunger for more shadow—again and again—without ever being consumed. Their distance is not escape, but defiance: the decision not to be devoured.
And then there are those who, like Phobos, hurl themselves toward the light—drawn helplessly toward what unravels them from within. It’s a fatal attraction: a headlong collision with no escape, where they too are eventually extinguished. They smile, they offer themselves up, they play the part with flawless precision. They mask their dread with grace—anything to forget that death is always part of the performance.
Between the lens and the darkroom, the battle endures—the one that buries the voice of what howls within.
2025
Scénography : Criterium and Cédric Delorme Bouchard
Lighting Design : Cédric Delorme Bouchard
Graphic Design : Criterium
Printing : Centre SAGAMIE and Lettrage GD
Framing : François Simard Encadreur
Synopsis : Michel Lemelin
Construction : Olivier Tremblay, Evens Emond, Jérôme Drolet Simard, JP Larouche & fils, Peinture F.G. and Alex Doré
Invited by the contemporary art center Langage Plus in Alma, I presented my first solo exhibition in a professional art venue. For the occasion, I completely transformed the space: the center’s three separate rooms were merged into a single one, reimagined as a labyrinthine photographic installation.
This installation was created from fourteen works drawn from the project Say My Name / Dis mon nom, an artist’s book that received the Burtynsky Grant, awarded to advanced-practice photographers developing a rigorous body of work in book form. The exhibited works are digital photographs taken from my personal archives, produced during a difficult period of my life, then transformed through interventions centered on the manual modulation of light in a digital darkroom. The images are printed with inkjet on cotton paper and polypropylene film. The spatial design also includes a lighting concept using knife-blade profile spotlights and LED strips.
The project benefited from exceptional community support, which made it possible to raise over $35,000 to ensure its realization.
Thanks to the City of Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix, Fondation RCG, Jérôme Drolet-Simard, GTR Soudure, Tim Hortons Métabetchouan, Éric Girard, Member of the National Assembly for Lac-Saint-Jean, Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of Culture and Communications, Bernard Drainville, Minister of Education, Centre SAGAMIE, Desjardins Caisse d’Alma, Tremblay Assurance, Janicke Morissette, Evens Émond, Francyn Doyle, Dépanneur Métabetchouan, Les Entreprises G. Larouche, Construction JP Larouche & Fils, Deschamps Impression, Familiprix Maude Morin and Marc-André Nolin, Centre Art Déco, Lettrage GD, QTL & Phyl Liquide, and Carrosserie St-Pierre.
