For artist Véronique Doucet, the presentation of the Aldermac: Mining Plantation in Sudbury project symbolizes the culmination of her artistic and environmental research. This research, which began in 2002, focuses on the devastating effects of storing 1.5 million tonnes of acid mine tailings on a 76-hectare site. With the help of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Regional Environmental Council (CREAT), the artist waged a fierce fight so that the Aldermac tailings site, located in Arntfield, nearly 24 km from Rouyn-Noranda, be restored.
As part of her multidisciplinary project, Doucet uses several means to inform the public and convince certain government authorities of the importance of acting on the situation.
The militia
The artist forms an environmental militia whose mission is to artistically and symbolically reforest part of the Aldermac tailings site. An experimental video shows about fifteen people masked and covered from head to toe moving through an arid and polluted landscape while futilely planting some 2,000 tree shoots doomed to die.
Pictures that speak
The artist travels by plane, rowboat, all-terrain vehicle or on foot to document, from all possible points of view, the contaminated land of Aldermac. In distant or close shots, each photograph presents itself in a play of colours and magnificent textures and in an ironically aesthetic composition. Through this series of 17 digital photographs, Doucet catches the eye and gently exposes her audience to the harsh reality of this contaminated environment.
Environmental victory initiated by an engaged art project
From certain photos from the Aldermac series, Doucet creates postcards pre-addressed to government authorities that have the power to bring about change. Nearly 3,000 people joined the movement and took part in the letter-writing campaign. After numerous interventions on the part of the artist and CREAT, the latter received a letter in the fall of 2007 announcing the restoration of the site. The cost is estimated at $16.5 million. Work began in September 2008 and is currently underway.
The Sudbury exhibit includes a pictorial installation representing a map of the site and the artist’s journeys, an experimental video documenting the work carried out by the environmental militia, as well as a series of photos and water pH samples, which bear witness to the artist’s discoveries during her expeditions to the site.
Véronique Doucet
Véronique Doucet is an environmental artist who, through her art and her political commitment, has succeeded in bringing about change in her environment. She obtained her bachelor's degree in art, major in plastic arts, minor in arts and sciences at the University of Montreal. His works have been presented throughout Quebec and now in Ontario.
Artist Profile