ARTAND, Azélie-Zee

In 1978, Azélie-Zee Artand worked in collaboration with Jovette Marchessault to create a visual-tactile sculpture: an imposing female figure decked out with strange weapons made from yogurt containers, jam jars and egg cartons. As it was meant to be both touched and looked at, the piece featured the words Présence vitale (“vital presence”) written in braille and Femme d’espérance (“woman of hope”) in relief. Artand’s work also includes book-objects, notably Anne-Marie Alonzo’s Blanc de thé (1983), of which twenty-five numbered copies were published by Zéditions élastiques. Each comprises a page of poetry folded in four and fixed to a sheet of foamboard decorated with collage, the board itself enclosed in a sleeve with two flaps. As a member of the Conseil de la Sculpture du Québec (CSQ), Artand participated in Jeux d’espace (1986), an exhibition organized by the CSQ in the Old Port of Montreal.