Collection: Becoming Shooting Stars | Yannick De Serre

We are all inhabited by ghosts, whether they are our own or encountered.

The genesis of this project draws inspiration from two distinct sources. The first is the artwork of artist Catherine Bolduc: "Autohypnose" (2019), an image found enhanced with watercolour and acrylic. In this inkjet print, an anonymous woman can be seen admiring her reflection in a psyché mirror. Bolduc deliberately concealed the woman's face by creating intricate paths of colors between the said face and the mirror she holds. Is it self-hypnosis or an ultimate attempt to understand the source of certain torments?

Secondly, De Serre also drew inspiration from a fictional story from the hospital environment: a suicide attempt by a woman-mother-partner who had suffered physical and psychological abuse from a man-father-husband. The artist, also working in the context of intensive care in a hospital setting, draws inspiration from frequently encountered facts.

For this exhibition, De Serre explores the boundaries of the history, both upstream and downstream of the tragic event. These meaningful works are enriched by the antique aura of found objects and the emotional sterility of certain medical items. Here, through contemporary vanities, the artist stages the decision of the woman to end it. Then, with the help of a medical cover resembling a shroud, he brings back this presence that is no more.