COSMOS: Cédric Ginart, Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery
October 1, 2009
Cédric Ginart, detail of A Planet , photo by Philippe Bouffaut
In conjunction with the Perimeter Institute’s Quantum to Cosmos Festival
October 15th, 2009 to January 10th, 2010
Cédric Ginart makes strange antique devices and contraptions. The unusual objects created by the French-born artist and scientific glass blower at the Université de Montréal, seem to exist somewhere between the worlds of science and the outrageously fantastic. Inspired by actual instruments that might have been used by Galileo, Copernicus, and Leonardo da Vinci, Ginart’s works appear humorous yet archaically functional.
Cédric Ginart, Distilloscope, photo by Karina Guevin
The works explore ideas about how humans observe and perceive the world around them. At the heart of the exhibition are a series of 7 bells in which new planets are being ‘cultivated’ and viewers may witness their various stages of growth.
Cédric Ginart, The Birth of a Universe as Explained by a Gardener, photo by Karina Guévin
This exhibition of Ginart’s work is further complemented by the incorporation of authentic antique scientific tools from the University of Waterloo’s Optometry Museum.
Cédric Ginart, Aliens Glass Eyes Prosthesis, photo by Karina Guévin
These artifacts were once used in order to measure, document, and understand the world and cosmos; in effect, to reveal known, unknown, and possible alternate realities of existence.
