How this Montreal artist duo create art using the human body as a muse

The past two years haven’t exactly been kind to the arts. In fact, the sector took one of the biggest hits throughout the course of the pandemic. Not only did this affect established artists, but it also had an impact on young people considering a career in the field.

With this in mind, RBC’s Arts Rising programme has been designed to aid artists in developing and furthering their careers by supporting initiatives that expose them to wider audiences, as well as mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities throughout their careers.

“Over the course of the pandemic, many Canadians turned to the arts for solace during the unknown,” says Vice President of Social Impact and Innovation at RBC Mark Beckles. “Musicians, writers, performers, and creators alike showed us that even in our darkest hours, we could find inspiration and hope. We are thrilled that Arts Rising will introduce new artists to audiences across the country and provide the support they need to recover from the impacts of the pandemic on their livelihoods.”

Chloë Lum and Yannick Desranleau are a Montreal-based multidisciplinary duo that have been creating art together since 2010. Their works focus on theatricality and the choreographic, drawing inspiration from literature, poetry, and the uncanny nature of the everyday.

Edwin Isford/RBC Arts Rising

Over the years, working together has allowed them to reap numerous benefits.“We feed each other with ideas and complete each other with our personal strengths,” Desranleau says. “It’s always motivating to be in the studio when someone else is there, engaging with the work and making the work as well.”

“So much of our practice builds from a constant never-ending conversation that has lasted decades,” Lum adds. “Having a collaborator to constantly chew over ideas means never being bored and always finding ways to expand on conceptual threads.”

Desranleau and Lum’s innovative art has previously been exhibited widely across North America and Europe, in locations like the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Esker Foundation in Calgary, the Cooper Gallery at the University of Dundee Scotland, and Musée d’art de Joliette in Quebec.

Their recent works investigate the agency of objects, the material condition of the body, and the transformative potential that bodies and objects exert upon each other – something heavily influenced by Lum’s experience with a chronic illness.

Edwin Isford/RBC Arts Rising

“I live with a neurological disorder that has me thinking about the limitations of bodies — how fragile they are and how often those limitations can be ways into different perceptions, different embodiments, different relationships with objects and materials,” she explains. “I’ve always been interested in the idea of the agency of inanimate things, seeing them as anthropomorphic beings. And I’m especially interested in how bodies and things come together.”

The two recently collaborated with The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) and thanks to RBC’s Arts Rising Initiative, they can continue to produce work with less financial stress. “For the kind of work we make, institutional support is essential,” Desranleau says.

Edwin Isford/RBC Arts Rising

Both Desranleau and Lum are empathetic to the challenges young artists can face when they are trying to jumpstart their careers. As they point out, the high cost of living, combined with ever-rising rent and a lack of flexible work opportunities, can often make things difficult.

However, thanks to initiatives like RBC Arts Rising, the pair now believe young artists have greater access to essential tools and information that can steer them in the right direction.

“I think things have gotten better for younger artists in some ways, at least in terms of professional development and mentorship opportunities,” Lum says. “I don’t remember much of that existing when we were starting out. We had to figure stuff out through trial and error, which I think is a giant waste of energy that I don’t wish on anyone.”

To learn more about RBC Arts Rising artists Chloë Lum and Yannick Desranleau and their work, click here.