WORD FROM THE CO-DIRECTORS

This new edition of ORANGE, like previous editions, is driven by a desire to create a laboratory of ideas where artists explore our relationship with agri-food, brings together from September 15 to October 28 artists from Quebec, the rest of Canada and abroad. Since its founding in 2003, ORANGE, the Contemporary Art Event of Saint-Hyacinthe, has worked to promote artworks by professional artists and to make them accessible to the public. The work presented has a direct or indirect link with the agri-food theme, which encompasses food, agriculture, food processing, world hunger, ecology, protection of the environment, etc. Artistic and theoretical enquiry feed these works of art, reflecting issues present in contemporary art in Quebec, the rest of Canada and the international art world. Every discipline is taken into consideration.

ORANGE has been presented thrice previously, in 2003, 2006 and 2009. The first edition explored various aspects of contemporary artistic practice dealing with food. The second took a more “political” route, with works questioning the ways we eat. The curators of the third event, in the fall of 2009, focused on the idea of ethics in the agri-food industry. The fourth edition of ORANGE, entitled Les Mangeurs, takes up the connection between food and death. The agri-food industry is an rich topic for anyone wishing to explore the many facets of this relationship. Countless and sometimes very strange attitudes exist around food; these go beyond the satisfaction of physiological needs to take in religious practices, rituals, customs and psychological mores and traits which have varied throughout history. ORANGE 2012 asks us to reflect upon the fact that we are mortal and points up the vanity of our earthly activities.

This edition has been organized by the non-profit organization ORANGE the Contemporary Art Event of Saint-Hyacinthe, in collaboration with EXPRESSION Centre d’exposition de Saint-Hyacinthe. The support of a number of partners is essential in organizing an event such as this. We at ORANGE would like to thank all those who have lent us a hand and who believe, like us, that boldness, awareness and vigilance are the cornerstones of a society both aware of its past and looking towards the future. We thank our provincial and federal funding agencies and the city of Saint-Hyacinthe which, with events such as the Rendez-vous des papilles, has made the month of September one of festivities around the agri-food sector, in tribute to our region, judiciously described as “the Garden of Quebec”.

We would also like to emphasize the importance the work of the curators, who have presented a singular reading of our relationship with food and brought together a diverse collection of work with sometimes surprising viewpoints. We also thank the artists for their confidence and invaluable collaboration. Without them, such events would not exist.

Welcome to all our visitors, welcome home, welcome to Saint-Hyacinthe, welcome to the fourth edition of ORANGE, the Contemporary Art Event of Saint-Hyacinthe! And welcome to eaters!

Marcel Blouin and Véronique Grenier
Co-directors of ORANGE, the Contemporary Art Event of Saint-Hyacinthe