Isabelle Gagné and Sven [Bleu diode] have been inspired by the work of multidisciplinary artist Jean-Yves Fréchette for the past 10 years. A precursor in digital art, Fréchette's research is rooted in the practice of mathematically rigorous performative writing, the accumulation of data and the clearing of territories of expression, whether technological (twittérature) or not (land art). A man of letters, but also of measurements and numerical constraints, he defines himself as a ‘textual geolocator’.

Using the many archives collected over the last few years, the duo Bleu diode, whose approach is based on heritage and memory, have laid the foundations for L’Arpenteur.

This hybrid digital, installation and performance work explored Fréchette's major works since the early 1980s. The fluidity between the artistic universes of Bleu diode and Jean-Yves Fréchette was represented by the three spaces involved: the Internet, the exhibition space at the TOPO digital creation centre in Montreal, and Fréchette's headquarters in Saint-Ubalde, where many of his creations were produced and documented.

The trigger for this project was the Agrotexte project, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022. Jean-Yves Fréchette had tractors draw the gigantic yet minimalist poem ‘TEXTE TERRE TISSE’ across the farmland of Saint-Ubalde. In September 2022, Fréchette became L’Arpenteur and returned to the same ground as in 1982 for a performance of connected pedestrian writing, guided by clues sent by post in the manner of Plis sous pli (1983). The geolocalised data from his cursive walks was extracted and reproduced in an original web work broadcast in real time in the TOPO showcase.

The exhibition space was a small-scale theatrical reconstitution of the artist's living environment and a multi-screen broadcast booth. Bleu diode offered visitors a glimpse into Fréchette's intimate bubble from a distance, as well as a look at this piece of land transformed by urban development and the agricultural crisis. The showcase was also a second performative space in Montreal, where the duo moved, added or removed objects, suggesting the passage of time. L’Arpenteur in the Portneuf region.

Fréchette questions the status of the sociological art of the 1980s and reactivates a dynamic of textual production over a surface area of more than 1.6 km. Today, text is dematerialised and belongs to the transmission logic of the web and GPS. Fréchette was present in le champ du texte to Saint-Ubalde to produce huge texts on foot every day. Rurality, textuality, performance and land art, Fréchette's approach is both festive and digital: it reflects the pleasure of writing and tracing signs on a surface.

With L’ArpenteurBleu diode has revisited the key works of the Centrale textuelle de Saint-Ubalde in order to highlight the importance of Jean-Yves Fréchette's work in contemporary literary, performance and digital practices.

Did you miss it?

The archive of walking performances by Jean-Yves Fréchette between 9 September and 29 October 2022 as part of this exhibition can be viewed at the following address topo.art/arpenteur.