Street Art sculpture by Laurence Vallieres made for No Limit Street Art Borås 2015. More information about No Limit, here.

Born in Québec city in 1986 this young artist was discovered by the creation of large-scale sculptures in cardboard. She studied at Concordia University in visual arts before doing an exchange program in Los Angeles to further her knowledge in ceramics. It’s only after graduation and doing an artist residency in Russia that she appropriated the street art influence in her work. By using cardboard, material that she finds in abundance in the street she can create large work on the spot in every part of the world she goes. It’s in 2012 that her carrier started after she organized a show called Transmute for the Montreal’s winter Festival. This first step in the big league lead her to her first solo show at galerie d’art Yves Laroche in Montreal and to participate to multiple festivals in the city. In the past year, Vallières has spent much time outside of Canada, showing notably in The United States, France and Germany.

As an artist, one’s goal must be to express what is common and mundane in a way that makes it interesting and novel.  To this end, I use animal imagery to symbolize and represent political issues and social behavior. My work is greatly inspired by literature from the authors Georges Orwell and Art Spiegelman. Their deft use of metaphor allowed them to critique an issue or philosophy without explicitly stating the target of their anger.  This use of metaphor gave their work the feel of a widely-circulated, savage inside joke.  Similarly, I create art that maintains both visual appeal and an understated sense of humor.  I want the meaning of my pieces to both capture the eye of the viewer initially and leave them with something to consider long after they’ve left.  I sculpt monkeys, elephants and rhinoceroses, thinking about their human correspondents or the ideologies they represent.

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