headlines

title : headlines
year : 2017
presented by : ellephant (january 2017)

the “headline” series, painting and newspapers, acts as a reflection of where we have been. a reminder of our recent past that is now covered over with the “new” news.

(click on images to enlarge – all photos by guy l’heureux)

title: le devoir, 8 janvier 2015, ils étaient charlie
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 30 x 30 cm.

title: le devoir, 31 decembre 2014, pollution : 400
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 30 x 30 cm.

title: le new york times november 27 2014, after disputed verdict
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 46 x 46 cm.

title: le devoir, 23 octobre 2014, pétrole sur le
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 46 x 46 cm.

title: the toronto star, october 23 2014, under siege terror
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 46 x 46 cm.

title: the national post, october 22 2014, soldier slaying in
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 46 x 46 cm.

title: le devoir, 13 avril 2014, “nous ne reculerons
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 30 x 30 cm.

title: le devoir, 22 mai 2014, mines d’uranium
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 46 x 46 cm.

title: le devoir, 22 juillet 2014, snc lavalin
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 30 x 30 cm

title: the sunday star, august 24 2014, trudeau slams pm
medium : acrylic on unprimed linen
size: 46 x 46 cm.

i am addicted to news.
first thing in the morning i open my laptop and surf the sites of le devoir, le monde, and the guardian. then i go to the new york times. i scan the headlines, click on stories, look for updates, read. after my morning fix of coffee i head out to the studio stopping to buy a newspaper from the local corner newsstand. once at my studio i turn on cbc radio one. the news is my constant companion.

the newspaper i bought at the newsstand serves as the source for the headline i will map onto a grid and transcribe using acrylic paint on linen. to counter the frenetic pace of the news the method of transcribing the headlines is slow and laborious. first the linen is stretched onto a frame, then a grid is penciled onto the linen, acrylic paint is applied following the weft and warp of the weave with the area left unpainted revealing the letter. this labour intensive approach slows down the process of “writing” and this slowing down is transmitted to the receiver of the works.

“headlines” fixes a moment in time and insists on this moment as something of value – time is “pinned down” and reflects back to us these moments of our shared passage.

while at the symposium in baie-saint-paul (2015) i came to understand the work could be received differently depending on the perspective of the person viewing. from an abstract painting, to a series of symbols, a text, and finally, a complete deciphering of the headline in question. each mode of apprehension uncovered a different relation to the work. some people would move through all the modes of reception while others preferred to rest with seeing the work as an abstraction. there is no right or wrong way, however for me, chronicling the headlines is a way to reflect back to ourselves where we have been.

all the “headlines” are from a paper newspaper and each paper is kept. there is something satisfying about a newspaper held in the hand, the act of smoothing the paper out flat, the turning of the pages and reading the full story. these hardcopy newspapers and the paintings belong together. both require a sustained attention and both assume a physical presence in the world.