Decouvrant le coeur, 1994
My 7 year old daughter, Nell, and I uncovered chalk stencil outlines of a heart and lungs, brushing away dead leaves. Images of the 5 senses were lit with torches. Taking a bow and arrow, then a bell, I chased away anger and hatred. The images in this piece, which are present in many other works of this period, are influenced by Tibetan Buddhist practice.
– ec, 2017
Traitant avec l’obscurité, Elizabeth CHITTY, accompagnée de son petit garçon, effectue le factage de feuilles mortes d’un endroit à l’autre de l’espace. Tranquille, silencieuse, son action inspire le recueillement. Saisissant un arc, CHITTY identifie son corps à celui du chasseur et du forestier, en parallèle avec un système de représentation graphique des différentes parties de l’anatomie humaine. Outre ces rétroprojections, les amas de feuilles, chichement éclairées, révèlent leurs teintes pourpres et argentées; remuées dans le silence, elles chantent de leur bruissement, invoquant de paisibles divinités. CHITTY conjugue ainsi la science anatomique et la science de l’âme, en une formalité plastique comportementale poétique, créant un passage dans le bruissement chaotique de la forêt.
– Rencontre internationale d’art performance de Québec, Les Éditions Intervention, 1995, p 19
Elizabeth CHITTY, accompanied by her little boy [sic], scatters dead leaves from one corner of the room to another, dealing with darkness. Calm and quiet, her actions inspire contemplation. Holding a bow, CHITTY associates her body with the body of the hunter and the forester, as well as visual representations of different human anatomy parts. In addition to these overhead projections, the cluster of leaves, scantily lit, reveal their purple and silver tones; stirred in the silence, the leaves sing their rustling, invoking peaceful deities. In this way, CHITTY combines the science of anatomy and the science of the soul to form a visual behavioral poem, creating a moment in the chaotic rustle of the forest.
– with thanks to translator Meryem Alaoui, 2017
