Étienne Rochon (known as Arthur Desmarteaux) and Allison Moore founded Egotrip Productions in 2006. Rochon completed his BFA at the Université du Québec à Montréal in 2003. He then studied ceramics at Concordia University in 2004–05, and water-free lithography and photolithography at Ateliers Graff in 2006. He began an MFA at Concordia University in 2014.
Multidisciplinary artist Allison Moore obtained a BFA (major interdisciplinary studies and video) from Concordia University in 2005. She attended a workshop on documentary film at San Francisco University in Quito, Ecuador (2005), and a workshop on Web art and digital design in Belfast (2006).
Artwork description
The immersive mural is deployed on two full walls situated at the entrance to the youth section of Bibliothèque de Pointe-aux-Trembles, creating a setting that stimulates users’ imaginations.
Composed of pieces of coloured ceramic, glass tesserae, and mirror pieces, hand-cut by the artists, Le grand rassemblement portrays a lush jungle bursting with playful characters: for instance, a tree spies on a lumberjack with a gold tooth and a headdress, and a flower waves at a two-headed figure whose belly spits blood.
Between the poetic and the grotesque, the work contains details that create improbable scenes related to comic books, video games, and popular culture. The bright colours lighten the tone by creating a contrast with some of the frightening characters.