Gabrielle Larouche

The five works presented are part of a series titled Déraciné. They include four pencil drawings depicting dark, misty figures curled in on themselves within an organic environment, and a  human-sized fabric sculpture, made of padded textile, which visitors are invited to touch and hold. 

This series marks the beginning of a “world-building” project where half-human, half-tree characters—whom the artist calls the “Déracinés” and the “Enracinés”—interact with one another. They serve as vectors to express emotional states related to certain forms of discomfort, such as anxiety and social pressure, which tend to uproot us from what is essential: healthy relationships, environmental awareness, and self-love. Gabrielle sees the tree as a metaphor for groundedness and considers the “Déracinés” as her own incarnation in tree/human form—beings that have been unearthed and are seeking to take root again.