Chartrand, Valérie

Through my practice, I consider how artists can communicate a sense of empathy, compassion and kinship with insects and arachnids that encourages thoughtful cohabitation and the adoption of sustainable ecological practices. The focus of my research is the loss of biodiversity and reduction in insect populations due to climate change and human interference in insect life cycles. I evoke the decline in species primarily through imprint techniques with insects and non-toxic materials. When working with insect bodies, only gather and work with found insects that have previously perished, and insect materials purchased from ethical sources. Reflections on killability of nonhumans and the looming ecological crisis caused by the loss of species are a key part of my practice and of my approach in memorializing dead insects in a subtle, poetic way. My passion for printmaking and my work with found insects lead to reflections on environmental decline, as the resulting imprints convey presence through absence. Through material research, ecological reflections, and attempts to establish kinship with nonhuman animals, the explorations I undertook as part of my creative research have resulted in a body of work documenting live arachnids and insects and memorializing fallen ones.

In support of Valérie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valérie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valérie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valérie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valérie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valerie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valerie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valerie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valerie Chartrand's MFA thesis.

In support of Valerie Chartrand's MFA thesis.