PFFUIT! is a dynamic installation of helium-filled balloons that will gradually yet randomly descend toward the ground over the course of the exhibition, creating a physical and symbolic experience of collapse. Printed around the circumference of each balloon is the John Maynard Keynes quote “In the long run, we are all dead.” The phrase highlights the conflict between the preference for immediate gains over future planning, as well as government intervention against free market policies. A smiley face emoticon signals the complex tones that this quote carries. While the words point towards our current economic situation, the balloons slowly deflate in a kind of death of their own. The installation, suggestive of air and atmosphere, also points to the implications of these attitudes on the natural climate.
Diane Gougeon lives and works in her native city of Montreal. Her art installations and interventions tap into site and object to question the impact of technology and communications on our lives, as well as their effects on human beings.
Over the years, she has done interventions in both public and private spaces. In addition to the usual exhibit sites, her work has invested the space of abandoned gardens and public and government buildings. With À demi-mot in 1997 and Circulaire in 2005, she even entered the city space, using vehicles such as taxis, delivery trucks and private cars as support. She has exhibited in Quebec, Canada and France, and created five public commissions. From time to time, she is also curates exhibits: Montréal tout-terrain (1984), Le bénéfice du doute (1992 and 1994), a collaboration between Optica in Montréal and the Centre St-Vincent de Herblay in France, and finally, Sur l’expérience de la ville (1997), another Optica production that was a finalist for the Conseil des arts de Montréal’s grand prize in 1997.
