Shanie Tomassini makes use of materials in constant mutation, subjecting them to the transformational effects of time. In recent years, Tomassini\u2019s practice has focussed on the transformative effects of mealworms and bryophyte mosses on sculptures made of Styrofoam or cement. Her most recent corpus, which the Montr\u00e9al public could experience at Centre CLARK in winter 2022, reflects on the mystical aspects of the elementary transformation of matter. Among the works in the series are sculptures made of incense compressed into the forms of old cell phones. These fragile and fragrant objects are placed on richly ornamented terracotta plinths, whose iconography is reminiscent of antique jewellery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomassini produced these sculptures from moulds based on her personal collection of obsolete cell phones. Her proposal evokes precisely the fetishistic aspect of these technologies that many of us are permanently attached to, as they are vectors for both absence and presence in our lives. Adding to this tension is the fact that some of the sculptures are activated by being set alight, quickly burning down to leave nothing but piles of ashes on their supports. Through this smouldering process, Tomassini evokes the fantasy of our total disconnection from these devices. In this sense, her practice seems alchemical\u200a\u2014\u200a<\/em>suggesting the transmutation of matter through the creative act, but also exploring the particularities of our embodied experiences, as discussed in Gaston Bachelard\u2019s The Formation of the Scientific Mind<\/em>: an alchemy that is defined as a \u201clanguage of reverie,\u201d an \u201cintimate culture\u201d that activates our senses differently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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$\"105_PF_Fiset_Shanie-Tomassini_Incense$ <\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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$\"105_PF_Fiset_Shanie-Tomassini_Incense$ <\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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$\"105_PF_Fiset_Shanie-Tomassini_Incense$
Shanie Tomassini<\/strong>
Incense Screen (iPhone 4)<\/em>, installation views, Umlauf Sculpture Garden, Austin, 2022.
Photos : Matthew Cronin, courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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$\"105_PF_Fiset_Shanie-Tomassini_Incense$ <\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
$\"105_PF_Fiset_Shanie-Tomassini_iPhone$ <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
$\"105_PF_Fiset_Shanie-Tomassini_iPhone$
Shanie Tomassini<\/strong>
iPhone Ritual<\/em>, installation views, Centre Clark, Montr\u00e9al, 2021.
Photos : Jean-Michael Seminaro, courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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