Initially, the experience of motherhood had a positive and profound effect on my relationship with time and creation. It allowed me to draw new strength from my vulnerability. However, the demands of parenthood soon took their toll. Gradually, I began to feel as though I was vanishing. That's when I turned to film photography to fulfil my need for artistic exploration and escape.

In my world weighed down by responsibility, getting to the studio had become almost impossible. However, carrying a camera around at all times felt natural and accessible. I've rediscovered my desire to delve into my daily life and wanderings for inspiration and subjects for future artistic endeavours. Paradoxically, it's by capturing and preserving moments that I've rediscovered the possibility of being moved again.

Photography has always been part of my life, but it has now taken on a role that is more than just a source of inspiration for my painting. Another temporality can be embraced, one that is more fragmented but more immediate. It's an act of resistance; a way of saying, 'I'm here' and 'I still exist', beyond the roles expected of me.

The photographic image provides me with a direct connection to the ephemeral. I slip into it, until I myself become a photosensitive surface, simultaneously evanescent and present. During this short residency, I will seek to give physical form to my photographic images for the first time.

Isabelle Guimond lives and works in Montréal. She has been represented by Galerie Simon Blais since 2018 and has been teaching at Cégep du Vieux Montréal since 2023. Her work has been exhibited in Quebec, France, the United States and Mexico. In recent years, her work has been presented at the Institute of Contemporary Art (Baltimore), Galerie Néon (Lyon), Galerie de l'UQAM, Galerie B-312, Centre Skol, Galerie d'art d'Outremont, Galerie Laroche/Joncas, Galerie Trois Points, Maison de la culture Maisonneuve and Galerie Simon Blais. She has also completed residencies at Centre SAGAMIE, L'Écart (Rouyn-Noranda) and Pigment Sauvage (Baltimore) with the collective Filles Debouttes! (Christine Major and Gabrielle Lajoie-Bergeron). She has participated in numerous group exhibits, fairs and benefit events.