Ephemeral photographic intervention in the storefront of an artist run centre located in the Red Light district of Montreal. The artwork was presented from May to September 2004 as part of the exhibition "Awakening" (VOX)

Backlit photograph, lamination | 60" X 103"

L'île rouge (Red Island) is a deserted island in Port au Port bay, off the shores of Newfoundland. It was named after the colour of its rocks by Jacques Cartier on his 1534 voyage of discovery up the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Red island was an important fishing area for the first French colonies and has now become a symbol of the survival of this cultural heritage in the peninsula. A bird sanctuary, the island is formed of crumbly rock and is subject to the extremes of climate as well as regular pounding by the sea. It has very little vegetation.

The simplicity and calm of this image contrast sharply with the immediate environment. The island was an ideal counterweight to the sensory overload of the surroundings, particularly at dusk, when the neon signs were turned on. It became a kind of “response” to this part of the city, a place of tranquility, dreams and escape, but also solitude, abandonment and violence. As an expression of refuge as well as distress, it resonated particularly with the prostitutes in the neighbourhood. As it happens, prostitutes were also among the first women to colonize our parts of North America.