Presented as part of the solo exhibition DÉFERLEMENTS-BREAKAWAYS at Stewart Hall Art Gallery

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exhibition catalogue in printed version
 

Presented at Stewart Hall Art Gallery in 2023, Déferlement–Breakaways was an immersive installation by Andréanne Abbondanza-Bergeron that transformed the gallery’s attic-like architecture into a flowing, spatial embodiment of water’s movement and force. Known for her interdisciplinary approach combining architecture and environmental concerns, Abbondanza-Bergeron used industrial polyester strapping—normally hidden in the logistics of global commerce—to evoke a deluge moving through and against structural boundaries. Suspended across beams and woven into the ceiling’s framework, the straps formed a shifting current that invited visitors to move through it physically, offering a direct bodily engagement with themes of natural flow, interruption, and resilience.

Curator Manel Benchabane described the installation as one that “powerfully and elegantly evokes the flow and movement of water,” while also confronting the ways we attempt to contain and control it. She wrote, “Metaphorically speaking, [the ripples] seem to break through barriers and defy the human exploitation of rivers, thus freeing our access to nature in the hope of better protecting it.” The installation emerged from research conducted during walks along the West Island shoreline and rivers in Italy, where the artist observed “how water, though breathtaking, still carried traces of human intervention.” Through its formal clarity and material tension, Breakaways exposed the fragility of our ecosystems, while insisting—like water itself—that despite the barriers we impose, movement continues, and paths will always be found.

Benchabane, Manel (Author-Curator); Abbondanza-Bergeron, Andréanne (Artiste), “DÉFERLEMENTS - BREAKAWAYS” exhibition catalogue, Stewart Hall Gallery, October 2023.