What is lineage? It describes the relationships that we have with the members of our family. For example, the connection and emotion experienced between child and parent, child and grand-parent, or even between a child and their great-grand-parent. But lineage is not only felt with biological family members. All those feelings of connection or inspiration that we feel around our close friends, favourite artists, celebrities, or historical figures, can also be considered a kind of lineage.
EDUCATION KIT
LAURE PROUVOST
Illustration: Marie-Fei Deguire
The PHI Foundation’s Education team is pleased to present this Education Kit to accompany the exhibition Laure Prouvost: Oma-je! This kit was conceived for group leaders and adults that wish to explore art as a family, to help you prepare for your visit.
PRE-VISIT
In it, you will find an introduction to our team, a preview of the exhibition, and the themes it explores.
POST-VISIT
Afterwards, taking inspiration from the exhibition, our team invites you to try the creative activities at home or in the classroom.
Before your visit
Introduction of the team and exhibition
After your visit
Discover our creative activities
Activity: Chit-chat Text
This activity is titled Chit-chat Text. This title brings together the words “text” and “papotage” which is French for chatting.
To explore the theme of lineage, we created a game of words and fictional stories, Chit-chat Text, inspired by Laure's work and the theme of lineage.
We've designed two versions of the Chit-chat Text collaborative story game. One is linked to the work Wantee (2013), which recounts the disappearance of Laure's grandfather down a tunnel he was digging to Africa, and Laure and her grandmother’s search to find him.
The second game is linked to another of Laure's works, Shadow Does (2023), in which a child creates a shadow game for their great-grandmother, talking to her about all kinds of aspects of our world.
Follow these steps
• The game printed on paper
• A pencil or other writing tool
• An eraser
First, you'll need to print out the games on paper, which requires access to a printer. Alternatively, you can copy the text onto paper by hand.
Print out enough copies of the games for each participant to have one.
For this game, you have a story to complete. Under each blank space you'll find a clue in brackets to help you choose a word to complete the sentence.
Go through the whole story and complete it according to your experiences and imagination.
When you've finished, tell your story to someone with whom you feel some lineage—a grandparent, family member, or close friend.
For an optional final step, think about the future generations that will follow (perhaps your grandchildren or great-grandchildren). Create your own Chit-chat Text by writing a story to this person. Remove keywords from the story and replace them with blank spaces. Write clues next to or under these spaces to give an idea of the type of word needed to complete the sentence.
Share your Chit-chat Text with friends and family, and tell each other different stories.
Have fun!
Activity: Dream Window
Following Laure’s lead in inviting us to delve into the imaginary, we’re going to show you how to do a creative activity called Dream Window.
This activity offers you a collage inspired by a magical situation, by things you desire, or of course, by a dream you've had.
Follow these steps
• tracing paper
• a lead pencil
• coloured pencils of your choice
• magazines or printed images
• scissors
• a glue stick and a ruler
First, we create a background for our Dream Window. Trace two identical squares on a sheet of tracing paper.
Cut them out and keep one square for later.
Using coloured pencils of your choice, colour a square of tracing paper to create a misty atmosphere.
Think of a magical situation, something you want, or a dream you’ve had. Based on these thoughts, choose images to cut out from a magazine, photocopy family photos, or draw something from your imagination.
Have fun positioning your different elements on the tracing paper to tell a story.
Use a glue stick to attach these elements to your coloured background.
Once everything is in place, retrieve your second square, and place it on top of the first square, which is now decorated.
You can play with the different layers of your Dream Window by adding lines, words, and drawings on top of your squares, behind your squares, or inside them.
Finally, trace the outline of one square with a glue stick and attach it to the second.
Have fun!
The Themes Explored
What is lineage? It describes the relationships that we have with the members of our family. For example, the connection and emotion experienced between child and parent, child and grand-parent, or even between a child and their great-grand-parent. But lineage is not only felt with biological family members. All those feelings of connection or inspiration that we feel around our close friends, favourite artists, celebrities, or historical figures, can also be considered a kind of lineage.
A dream is a series of mental images, organized at times and disorganized other times, that we create especially during sleep. Dreams are also a way to imagine other universes, escape reality, or invent new possibilities. And, of course, a dream can also be a deep desire or something that we hope and wish for. Laure Prouvost’s artworks invite us to dive into the imagination and explore situations that push the limits of reality, just like in our dreams. In this way, the works offer the opportunity to counter the social norms that divide us, and imagine new possibilities. As we enter the world of dreams, Laure opens up a conversation full of pleasure and hope for a future together.
The PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art presents the exhibition Oma-je by the artist Laure Prouvost, from November 1, 2024 to March 9, 2025.
Educators
Prakash Krishnan
Paul Lofeodo
Marilou Lyonnais Archambault
Director of Education
Marie-Hélène Lemaire
Related Exhibition
Free
Foundation
Laure Prouvost: Oma-je
November 1 → March 9
The PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art is pleased to present Oma-je, the largest North American exhibition to date by acclaimed French artist Laure Prouvost
Exhibition
Contemporary Art
Free
Foundation
Laure Prouvost: Oma-je
November 1 → March 9
The PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art is pleased to present Oma-je, the largest North American exhibition to date by acclaimed French artist Laure Prouvost
Exhibition
Contemporary Art