2024 | ÉMILIE RÉGNIER
WE ARE MADE OF WATER
TORONTO
Sept 14 - Oct 19, 2024

Blouin Division is pleased to present We are made of water, an exhibition of new work by Émilie Régnier.

“Growing up as a mixed-race child in Canada, I yearned for someone to see beyond my physical appearance and into my inner being. I was seeking refuge from the vulnerabilities I felt. In my current work, I transform bodies—mine and others—into emotional landscapes, challenging the racial boundaries and physical limitations of our time. Self-portraits and silhouettes facing the Atlantic in West Africa or the United States, shimmer with black crystals or pink sequins. These images simultaneously protect us from historical burdens while celebrating the bonds forged through generations of struggle.

My practice builds upon traditional cultural crafts such as quilting, beading, and woven loincloths. It pays homage to the complex challenge of tracing ancestral heritage for those whose roots and identities were erased during the transatlantic slave trade. This artistic process weaves an invisible bond, uniting individuals whose experiences are intertwined with colonialism's enduring legacy. Through this work, I aim to create a visual language that bridges personal identity, collective memory, and cultural resilience in the face of historical adversity.” —Émilie Régnier

Émilie Régnier is a Canadian-Haitian photographer and visual artist. She spent the majority of her childhood in Africa, primarily in Gabon. After completing her photography studies in Montreal, she moved to West Africa and was based in Dakar, Bamako, and Abidjan from 2009 to 2019. Today, she is back in Montreal, and her most recent works take place between Canada, the Caribbean, and the African continent. She has previously worked in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Her work has been exhibited internationally and published in The New Yorker, Le Monde Magazine, The Financial Times, Vogue, The New York Times, Foam, and many others. In 2020, she received a National Geographic Explorer grant for her research on DNA. In 2023, she completed her master's degree in photography at Concordia University. Since September 2020, the artist has been focusing on textile and multimedia projects that explore her relationship with identity and family through sewing, screen printing, sound, and photography.