{"id":5094,"date":"2026-07-27T13:51:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T17:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labeauairsol.ca\/when-science-meets-art-our-collaborations-with-caroline-monnet\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T16:57:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T20:57:19","slug":"when-science-meets-art-our-collaborations-with-caroline-monnet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/labeauairsol.ca\/en\/when-science-meets-art-our-collaborations-with-caroline-monnet\/","title":{"rendered":"When Science Meets Art: Our Collaborations with Caroline Monnet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Art, Culture, and Special Projects\n <\/div>\n\n

\n When Science Meets Art: Our Collaborations with Caroline Monnet\n <\/h1>\n\n

\n Lab’Eau-Air-Sol has applied its expertise in environmental microbiology\n to two works by the multidisciplinary artist\n Caroline Monnet:\n *Havoc*<\/strong> and *Depredation<\/strong>*.\n <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/header>\n\n

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About Caroline Monnet<\/h2>\n\n

\n Caroline Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist\n of Anichinabe and French descent based in Montreal.\n Her practice encompasses visual arts, film,\n sculpture, and installation art.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n She is known for her use of industrial materials\n and construction-related materials,\n which she transforms to explore the connections between\n identity, memory, architecture, territory, and\n the built environment.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n The collaborations between Caroline Monnet and\n Lab’Eau-Air-Sol arose from a specific challenge:\n to use living microorganisms as artistic\n components while controlling their growth,\n appearance, and the conditions necessary for a\n safe presentation.\n <\/p>\n\n

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Works Created in Collaboration<\/h3>\n\n

\n The works *Havoc* and *Depredation* have made it possible to\n bring together contemporary art, microbiology, environmental\n, and building materials.\n <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n

Havoc: Controlling Living Things to Create a Work of Art<\/h2>\n\n

\n In 2021, Lab’Eau-Air-Sol collaborated closely on the\n production of *Havoc*<\/em>, which was featured in\n the *Ninga M\u00ecn\u00e8h*<\/em> exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts\n.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n The artwork featured traditional Anichinabe motifs\n, with contrasts created using\n mold. The creation required a great deal of ingenuity\n to maintain and control the mold\u2019s growth,\n to achieve precise visual definition, and to ensure\n that the artwork was safe for display. \n <\/p>\n\n

\n The team had to take into account the behavior of the microorganisms\n, the conditions conducive to their\n development, and the visual evolution of the artwork\n over time.\n <\/p>\n\n \n\n

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\n\n \"View\n\n
\n Havoc<\/em>, view from the exhibition\n Caroline Monnet: Ninga M\u00ecn\u00e8h<\/em>.\n Photo: MMFA, Denis Farley.\n <\/figcaption>\n\n <\/figure>\n\n
\n\n \"Detail\n\n
\n Havoc<\/em>, view from the exhibition\n Caroline Monnet: Ninga M\u00ecn\u00e8h<\/em>.\n Photo: MMFA, Denis Farley.\n <\/figcaption>\n\n <\/figure>\n\n
\n\n \"Patterns\n\n
\n Havoc<\/em>, view from the exhibition\n Caroline Monnet: Ninga M\u00ecn\u00e8h<\/em>.\n Photo: MMFA, Denis Farley.\n <\/figcaption>\n\n <\/figure>\n\n
\n\n \"Installation\n\n
\n Havoc<\/em>, view from the exhibition\n Caroline Monnet: Ninga M\u00ecn\u00e8h<\/em>.\n Photo: MMFA, Denis Farley.\n <\/figcaption>\n\n <\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
\n\n Overview:<\/strong>\n The exhibition \u201cCaroline Monnet: Ninga M\u00ecn\u00e8h\u201d<\/em>\n was on view at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts\n from April 21 to August 1, 2021.\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n

“Depredation”: A New Collaboration on Display in New York<\/h2>\n\n

\n In 2023, Caroline Monnet once again called on\n Lab’Eau-Air-Sol to create\n Depredation<\/em>.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n This mural, made of gypsum panels, incorporated mold-\n s associated with building materials\n affected by moisture problems.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n The use of gypsum and mold established a\n direct link between building materials,\n moisture problems in buildings, and the\n gradual transformation of built spaces.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n The work was featured in the exhibition\n WORKSITE<\/em> at Arsenal Contemporary Art New York,\n at 21 Cortlandt Alley, from September 8 to\n October 21, 2023.\n <\/p>\n\n \n\n

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\n\n \"Caroline\n\n
\n *Depredation*<\/em>, 2023.\n Photo: Jorge Rios.\n <\/figcaption>\n\n <\/figure>\n\n
\n\n \"View\n\n
\n “Depredation<\/em>,” view from the exhibition\n WORKSITE<\/em>.\n Photo: Jorge Rios.\n <\/figcaption>\n\n <\/figure>\n\n
\n\n \"Installation\n\n
\n “Depredation<\/em>,” view from the exhibition\n WORKSITE<\/em>.\n Photo: Jorge Rios.\n <\/figcaption>\n\n <\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
\n\n Overview:<\/strong>\n WORKSITE<\/em> was a solo exhibition\n by Caroline Monnet presented at Arsenal Contemporary Art\n in New York in 2023.\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n

A Creative Partnership Based on Expertise<\/h2>\n\n

\n These collaborations demonstrate that Lab’Eau-Air-Sol’s scientific and\n expertise can find\n applications far beyond traditional\n building analyses.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n By contributing to these works, our team participated in\n a dialogue between microbiology, materials,\n the built environment, contemporary art, and our relationship to the\n spaces we inhabit.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n These projects have also made it possible to put science\n at the service of a unique artistic approach, in which living\n becomes at once a material, a process of\n transformation, and a visual element.\n <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n