In the 16th century, the discovery of heliocentrism generated a public uproar and proceeded to trigger a revolution of sorts: it was strictly prohibited, even punishable by law, to believe that the Earth is not the centre of the universe. Nowadays, as we look up and turn our gaze towards the sky, filled with new and ever-evolving discoveries, we have fully come to terms with the idea that the outlines of our universe are constantly being remapped. Could there be a lesson to draw from this profound transformation of our beliefs regarding the inhabitable world?
Just as we have been able to completely change our understanding of the sky, over the past few centuries, we must now reform the way we read, hear, see, and accept human identities, genders, and desires. They must no longer be bound, rejected, nor oppressed by any restrictive or binary views—the time has come to reshape the sky. By celebrating human diversity as well as by shedding light on its suffering and redefining its outlines, this series invites us all to gently recognize and to ultimately understand ourselves and each other.
Reshaping the Sky is a multifaceted creation, both literary and photographic, but eschewing definition by one or the other. Rather, it is an iconoclastic and adventurous work of art, open and useful, all at once documentary and invention. It should be experienced as a work of beauty and pain, the result of patient and transformative listening on the part of its two creators Simon Emond and Michel Lemelin. Reshaping the Sky opens all sorts of possibilities to those who agree to open its pages—we hope it generates an uproar and sparks a great revolution.
-64 pages (12 x 16″) + 32 interspersed pages (6 x 14″)
-Saddle stich binding
-Offset black and white printing
-Texts in French, Atikamekw, and Nehlueun
-Screen-printed plastic packaging
Editing : Sophie Gagnon-Bergeron
Design : Criterium
ISBN 978-2-9819041-0-2
Self-published
2020
-Salon du Livre du Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean Award, Category: Non-fiction, Tales, and Short Stories
-Shortlisted, Salon du Livre du Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean Award, Category: New Talent
-Shortlisted, Photobook Award Encontros da Imagem International Photography & Visual Arts Festival
-Advertising & Design Club of Canada Award
-Applied Arts Award
-Shortlisted, Idéa Award
-Shortlisted, Belfast Photo Festival
-Special mention: Coup de coeur, Acquisitions committee, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
“In this encounter between the testimonials of people identifying with the LGBTQ+ community and photographers haunted by mystery and sometimes flirting with abstraction, an atypical, and undeniably seductive, object comes to light.” -Ciel variable
“Reshaping the Sky is a complete artistic experience.” -Le Devoir
“The publication is an invitation to consider the beauty of our constellations of genders and desires. Copernicus had even more to teach us than heliocentrism.” -Vie des arts
Library collections
-Canadien Centre for Architecture
-Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
-National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec
-McCord Museum, Montréal
-sans titre Library, Paris
Expositions
-Arprim, Canada
-Photobook Week Aarhus, Denmark
-Photaumnales Diaphane, France
-Encontros da Imagem International Photography & Visual Arts Festival, Portugal
-Les rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie, Canada
-Centre Bang, Canada
-George Brown College, Canada
