The artists Jean-François Cooke and Pierre Sasseville live and work in Québec City, where they are known for the originality and relevance of their creations. Over the years, the duo has produced a number of large-scale projects, exploring a multitude of materials and a wide variety of techniques. Their art is marked with humour that is sometimes absurd, sometimes hard-hitting or cynical, drawing on themes that involve everyday concerns. Cooke-Sasseville’s work, based mainly on sculpture and installation, has been exhibited in a number of Québec galleries. They have presented their work in more than 10 solo exhibitions and participated in 20 major group events in Québec and Europe. They have created a number of works of public art, including Point de mire (2011), in Thetford Mines, and Le Mélomane (2011), which is in the Ville de Montréal’s collection of public art.
Artwork description
The stethoscope symbolizes the relationship of trust between physician and patient; and as an icon of modern medicine, it has a special relationship with the public. The artists felt it would be fitting to position the statue in such a way that the ear tips lean toward the adult hospital, while the chestpiece points toward the surrounding neighbourhoods. This placement highlights the essential notion of listening at play in the relationship between practitioner and patient. The stethoscope, as an object, illustrates the contact between two individuals — it represents the human dimension of medicine. The decision to paint the two stethoscope tubes red and blue refers to anatomical medical models and the colour code used to represent blood circulation. The choice conveys the notion of exchange and flow.