Body, Environment, Affects: A Few Extensions of Immersion

As soon as I entered the room, I found myself enveloped in a vibrantly coloured landscape that extended to every wall. Created by Kaël Mercader for the recent International Symposium of Contemporary Art of Baie-Saint-Paul, Gros et détail (2025) juxtaposed the multiple aspects of the village sketched by Mercader during his stay. Beginning with a swimming scene at the bay’s beach, the panorama strung together a rural setting, a forest, a veranda, an old woodstove, a fenestrated lodge high in the mountains, a mini-golf, and a view of the bay from the village. Orchestrating a surprising mix of Charlevoix’s picturesque rurality and today’s Baie-Saint-Paul, the fresco painted an exuberant portrait of the region. Not only did it seem to come toward me due to its chromatic intensity, but also the colours’ invigorating or caressing radiance was almost tactile, an effect further reinforced by the domestic scale of the place and its low ceiling (also painted), which compelled a physical proximity to the work. Yet was this an actual immersive experience?