Since 1995, Michel de Broin has been mapping out systems of resistance that skilfully make visible the behaviours of materials—and by analogy those of social systems—subjected to various forces and constraints. In his most recent installation, Stick to Resist (2004), an extension of an earlier series of interventions entitled Tenir sans servir c’est résister (1998–2003), the metaphor of resistance is addressed more specifically in relation to current social unrest, marked by the permanent, looming threat of international terrorism. Michel de Broin has created a functional robot that resembles nothing so much as a home-made detonator. It is in fact made up of an electromagnet, an electric resistor that, once armed, stays stuck to any metallic surface until a digital timer runs out. The robot is equipped with an electronic signature that enables its operator to arm and disarm the magnet. Without entering this personal identification number, it is impossible to remove the magnet from the surface to which it has been affixed. For a second work, entitled Nu (1998), de Broin photographed minor, unexpected events encountered during urban wanderings: monumental panels in subway stations, destined to receive advertising images, left empty of all representations. Thus captured, they appear as strange monochrome tableaux—thereby referring to tropes of contemporary art often encountered in his practice.

Born in 1970, Michel de Broin lives and works in Montreal, and he obtained his master’s degree in visual arts from Université du Québec à Montréal in 1997. His most recent exhibitions solos have been at Galerie Pierre-François Ouellette, Montreal (2005); La Vitrine, Paris (2003); Galerie 44, Toronto (two-person show with Ève K. Tremblay, 2003); Villa Merkel, Esslingen, Germany (2002) and the Centre des arts actuels Skol, Montréal (1999). De Broin has also been part of many group exhibitions in Canada and Europe, including Damage Control (2003) at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa; Vaguement Radical Vaguely (2003) at the National Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria; La demeure (2002) at Galerie Optica, Montreal; and Artefact (2001) on the Lachine Canal in Montreal. The artist’s public art piece Révolutions was dedicated in 2003 in Montreal’s Parc Maisonneuve-Cartier. Michel de Broin is represented by Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain.

The artist wish to thanks:
Emilien Chatelain (vidéographe), Eve K. Tremblay (activiste), Jacques de Broin (technologie), l’Atelier Commun (impression jet d’encre), Sylvain Rousseau (la Vitrine, Paris), la galerie Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain (Montréal), L’agence Vitriol (Paris), la Maison d’édition Locus Solus (Paris), le Centre Culturel Canadien à Paris, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, l ’Association Française d’Action Artistique, la Délégation générale du Québec à Paris, l’École Nationale Supérieure d’arts de Paris – Cergy


2009 Biography in French only