Reception: Saturday, March 8, 2025 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Olivier Roberge : Nationalismes nuancés et autres constructions identitaires
Text by Sara Trapara
Quebec artist Olivier Roberge’s new exhibition Nuanced Nationalisms and Other Identity Constructions brings together two new series of works alongside four of his previous creations. Trained in artisanal cabinetmaking, Roberge creates miniature worlds that serve as microcosms of the human experience. His artistic practice reimagines the role of models and dioramas, transforming them from simple representations into instruments for introspection. In a time of political uncertainty and turbulence, Roberge’s world-making navigates themes of truth, perspective, identity, and belonging.
Amongst the intricately crafted sculptural landscapes, Roberge introduces a new series of paintings called Nuanced Nationalisms, where he deconstructs Western national flags into singular colors. In doing so, he questions their rigid symbolism and nationalism’s role in identity construction. His new series of miniature models There’s NO Such Thing as a… is inspired by the children’s book There’s NO Such Thing as a Dragon by Jack Kent. This book tells the story of a boy who ignores a tiny dragon in his bedroom because he is told that dragons don’t exist. The dragon only grows bigger and bigger, until the boy realizes the dragon only needed to be noticed and acknowledged. For Roberge, this story symbolizes the ways we might lack empathy for others or ignore and repress certain emotions or truths within ourselves. Roberge embraces the childlike wonder inherent in miniature worlds and encourages a sense of open-minded curiosity when approaching his creations.
His previous works, categorized under Other Identity Constructions, include installations like Écogenèse, which explores the impact of human activity on natural landscapes and the degradation of nature. What’s Wrong With My WI-FI? features a church transformed into a communications tower, juxtaposing ideas of nature, religion, and science. Roberge asks whether science, in its quest for absolute truth, has become elevated to the status of religion. In the work Don’t Fight The Rainbow, prehistoric figures fight one another before a sublime, monolith-like rainbow. Roberge contrasts notions of polarization and dissent with possibilities for wholeness, harmony, and multiplicity, symbolized by the rainbow.
Nuanced Nationalisms and Other Identity Constructions explores the role of nature, technology, and power in shaping our understanding of the world and ourselves. Through his intricate worlds, Roberge emphasizes the inextricable link between humans and their environment, seeing them as one and the same. In this way, his dioramas become a kind of symbolic self-portrait, inviting viewers to step back and examine the structures that influence both our personal and collective identity.
