Engraver Christiane Roy reveals hidden traces in nature

Tashi Farmilo

Christiane Roy will present Nature sous tension (Nature under tension), an exhibition of engravings exploring environmental fragility, at Espace Pierre-Debain in Aylmer from March 25 to May 24.

Organized by the Ville de Gatineau, the exhibition will open with a reception on March 25 from 6 to 8 pm at the gallery in the Old Aylmer Cultural Centre, 120 rue Principale. Admission is free.

The exhibition brings together a series of burin engravings Roy has produced since 2018. In this traditional printmaking technique, the artist uses a sharp steel tool called a burin to cut fine lines directly into a plate, often copper. Ink is pressed into the carved lines and transferred onto paper using a printing press.

Roy said the demanding process shapes the way she approaches her work. “My artistic practice is centred on burin engraving, a demanding medium that allows me to combine technical rigour with artistic sensitivity,” she said.

Her research focuses on the expressive possibilities of line. The engraved images are built through dense networks of lines that gradually form natural scenes, encouraging viewers to look closely and discover layers of meaning. “My artistic research focuses on the line. It is a search for a kind of writing with the burin that allows me to represent reality through a complex interplay of lines,” Roy said.

She said the line work invites viewers to move beyond a quick glance and examine details that gradually reveal the full image. “This interplay of lines forces the gaze and obliges it to penetrate layers of meaning,” she said. “In a fragment of reality, it invites us to see things and living beings as a whole that emerges from the study of detail.”

The works depict landscapes that appear untouched at first glance. Roy said careful observation reveals subtle traces of human presence. “These works represent scenes of nature that appear pristine, but where human waste, viruses, masks and debris slip in,” she said.

Some of the works are engraved on copper plates using traditional intaglio methods associated with Renaissance printmakers. Others are produced on plexiglass plates using a technique Roy developed in recent years that allows the images to be printed with a roller in a manner similar to woodcut printing.

Roy said the contrast between natural beauty and hidden disruption reflects her environmental concerns and aims to encourage reflection on the consequences of everyday actions. “My work explores the contrast between the beauty of living things and the impacts of our daily actions,” she said. “Behind the apparent harmony are fragments and symbols that the eye eventually discovers.”