REPENTIGNY, QC | MARCH 2022

Emotions and art. Art and emotions. Two perfectly inextricable elements overlap, where each carbide from the other. For Émilie, it is evident that art is a way of opening up and allowing emotions to express themselves. The young artist who painted abandoned buildings with a masterful look has also shown a lot of resilience and courage since her stay in a crisis center. It has had a considerable impact on her way of living her creativity. She freed herself from her demons.

At the age of seven, she took private lessons in drawing and painting. Then, Émilie says it straight away: she did not have an easy childhood. Art quickly became his outlet, especially painting.

“ Few words are needed; everything happens on the canva.”

Today, it is healing that she paints. In her house in Repentigny, light hits the windows. Emilie has just returned from her morning walk with her dogs; the children are at school. She still feels the outside coldness on her cheeks. The house is calm and silent, conducive to creation. The steps creak as the artist descends to his studio. She sets up a blank canvas on her easel, covers herself with her apron, and plays The Rains of Castamere by Ramin Djawadi and Serj Tankian. Immediately, the singer’s voice is heard, at the same time soft but powerful. An energy that intoxicates Émilie. She lays the first lines on her canvas. For now, it’s using her brush, but she moves easily between paint, airbrush, aerosol and permanent marker. She surrenders entirely to the woman, taking on a little more life each time she touches the canvas.

The painter gives birth to a dreamlike universe while remaining sober. In this chiaroscuro, feminine silhouettes are revealed, inspired by the incredible strength of women who fight to put their demons to death.

Obviously, the obstacles that she has experienced, she knows that others have had to face them too. The young artist also shows great generosity in this regard. In 2019, she volunteered to offer art classes in an elementary school, allowing several children to escape in turn. Sometimes, in our current educational model, art is not always seen as a priority when it often brings much more than it seems, as was the case for Emilie when she was young.

It doesn’t stop there. After staying at the crisis house, Émilie found herself and received extraordinary support from the organization’s social workers. While seeking help is still taboo, it was essential for her to underline all the good it had done her after spending nearly 20 years keeping painful events under wraps. In turn, she wants to help those going through difficult situations and volunteers at the crisis house.

As she talks about it, you can feel her throat tightening, all the emotion that inhabits it, and all the recognition. The interview ends as she waits for her son to finish his gym class with these words. The young mother is admirable. She is still ready to lend a hand: “ Because it is important to know that people are there. It’s important to help each other. ”

To donate to the Lanaudière Crisis Center: http://crise.lanaudiere.net/don.html

Follow the artist on her website or on Facebook and Instagram.