View of the installation Inflorescence on Du Musée Avenue (summer 2023), designed by Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with the MU team. Photo Olivier Bousquet (MU)
View of the installation Inflorescence on Du Musée Avenue (summer 2023), designed by Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with the MU team. Photo Olivier Bousquet (MU)
Inflorescence
Every summer since 2013, the MMFA has been inviting local creative talent to design and mount an installation for the portion of Du Musée Avenue that gets converted into a pedestrian walkway. This year, you can discover a work by the Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with MU, which is an homage to Quebec’s biodiversity and to the plants and insects that contribute to its flourishing every day.
Up close with local flora and fauna
Drawing inspiration from the exhibition Portable Universe: Thought and Splendour of Indigenous Colombia (on view at the MMFA through October 1, 2023), Inflorescence invites us to imagine the interconnectivity of all living beings and to contemplate the beauty and biodiversity of the natural world. As we traverse this immense fresco, in what is a dramatic reversal of scale, we find ourselves at the level of the insects foraging in Quebec’s plants and flowers.
View of the installation Inflorescence on Du Musée Avenue (summer 2023), designed by Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with the MU team. Photo Olivier Bousquet (MU)
A sprawling bouquet on Du Musée Avenue
This painted bouquet shows a dozen plant species stretching along the road, like so many portraits waiting to be admired. Interspersed among them are four allies – that is to say, four pollinating insects, tiny builders who toil in the shadows, maintaining our ecosystems. Beyond their playful and captivating effect, these monumental plants and insects prompt us to think about the place nature holds in urban spaces. They may even spark a desire to go looking for these wildflowers and to take a moment to observe the indomitable life willing its way through the cracks in the concrete.
Learn more about the flowers and insects depicted in the fresco by scanning the QR codes located throughout the installation.
View of the installation Inflorescence on Du Musée Avenue (summer 2023), designed by Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with the MU team. Photo Olivier Bousquet (MU)
Every branch has a story
The seating in this larger-than-life depiction of our local flora was made from trees that were felled during Quebec’s major ice storm of April 2023. It consists mainly of tree trunks recovered on Mount Royal, an iconic feature of the Montreal landscape.
The unstripped wood adds to the overall texture and authenticity of the installation. The freshly cut trunks will continue to weather and transform over the course of the summer, standing as witnesses to our northern climate and to the fragile balance in which nature and its elements hang.
View of the installation Inflorescence on Du Musée Avenue (summer 2023), designed by Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with the MU team. Photo MMFA, Denis Farley
About Collectif Escargo
Blending landscape architecture, public art and design, Collectif Escargo seeks to reveal the poetry in everyday life through an open, boundless and joyful practice. Founded seven years ago by Karyna St-Pierre, Julie Parenteau and Céleste Diehl, it has since won several awards and distinctions in Quebec and elsewhere. The collective was joined by Sandra Ciro in 2020 and Léo Lacasse in 2022.
An occasion to recognize the generosity of our donors
Over 8,000 donors generously gave to the Museum’s 2022-2023 Annual Fundraising Campaign. As a gesture of our appreciation for their invaluable support, a wall paying tribute to them has been installed on Du Musée Avenue.
Credits and acknowledgements
An installation designed by Collectif Escargo at the request of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and executed in collaboration with MU, thanks to the invaluable support of Ville de Montréal, Ville-Marie Borough, and Denalt Paints.
View of the installation Inflorescence on Du Musée Avenue (summer 2023), designed by Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with the MU team. Photo Olivier Bousquet (MU)
View of the installation Inflorescence on Du Musée Avenue (summer 2023), designed by Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with the MU team. Photo Olivier Bousquet (MU)
View of the installation Inflorescence on Du Musée Avenue (summer 2023), designed by Collectif Escargo and executed in collaboration with the MU team. Photo MMFA, Denis Farley
