Materializing new ideas through practice often begins with a single word or image. Recently, I happened on the French expression prendre de mauvais plis, originating from the domain of textiles, where a bad fold leaves a stubborn crease. A poor fold, like a bad habit or a wrong turn, is difficult to erase. This concept will inspire my work at Centre SAGAMIE.

For over a decade, I have been working with paper, experimenting with cutting, folding, and manipulation to create wall pieces and sculptures. My goal now is to reintroduce imagery into these paper pieces, using bold graphics and colours in contrast with the final form, akin to the deceptive "razzle dazzle" camouflage used on battleships.

This use of misdirection paired with “mauvais plis” might prove to be a bad idea in the end (pun intended), but Centre SAGAMIE’s production laboratory is surely the perfect place to take risks in an exploratory artistic environment.

Sandra Smirle is a multidisciplinary project-based artist living in Montreal, whose practice focuses on our fraying relationship with nature. She holds an MFA (2015, Fibres and Material Practice) and a BFA (1990) from Concordia University, Montreal. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, and is held in private and corporate collections. Smirle has been featured in The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography, published by Princeton Architectural Press, Deviant Devices, a series by The Site Magazine, 2020, and most recently in the documentary The City Island by filmmaker Elizabeth Littlejohn, 2022.