Photo : ENE/Jean-Sébastien Veilleux, courtesy of the artist
Shanie Tomassini makes use of materials in constant mutation, subjecting them to the transformational effects of time. In recent years, Tomassini’s practice has focussed on the transformative effects of mealworms and bryophyte mosses on sculptures made of Styrofoam or cement. Her most recent corpus, which the Montréal public could experience at Centre CLARK in winter 2022, reflects on the mystical aspects of the elementary transformation of matter. Among the works in the series are sculptures made of incense compressed into the forms of old cell phones. These fragile and fragrant objects are placed on richly ornamented terracotta plinths, whose iconography is reminiscent of antique jewellery.
