photo: Philippe Vandal

spectral narratives is an art installation composed of objects inspired by an environmental analytical chemistry protocol designed to detect the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons in the urban soils of Montreal. Each device embodies a key stage in the preparation and analysis of soil samples, highlighting their molecular composition. By focusing on specific scientific instruments, spectral narratives explores the often-hidden visual and material dimensions in contamination detection processes.

The project also emphasizes the tensions inherent in using these tools, particularly the gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer—a device that, in the 1950s, was central to the concerns of oil companies to ensure the purity of refined products. Today, this instrument is commonly used to verify petroleum products and identify their presence in contaminated environments.

spectral narratives also questions the boundary between the visible and invisible in contamination detection and formalization processes. By manipulating ultraviolet light to activate phosphorescent pigments, the work reveals usually hidden traces, materializing the invisible pollution in the soil. The multiphase liquid sculptures, made of petroleum fractions, evoke both the fluidity and persistence of these toxic substances in the environment, while their aestheticization in the laboratory transforms them into objects of critical contemplation.

The blown glass containers embody a paradox: while they serve as vehicles for rigorous scientific analysis, they also allude to an inherent fragility—a symbolic permeability between nature and industry. Glass, transformed into a precise scientific tool, becomes here a pivotal material, a tangible boundary but also a metaphor for the interaction between the natural and the artificial, the clean and the contaminated.

Through these devices, spectral narratives exposes the tension between objective detection methods and the subjective, political, and social issues that arise in soil contamination management. By revealing how the very act of measuring, quantifying, and formalizing pollution contributes to the construction of our environmental policies, the work fosters a critical reflection on the power of scientific instruments and the narratives they shape.

The installation invites the viewer to reconsider how science frames the perception of contamination and how art, through objects and materials, can redefine this perception, emphasizing the often invisible or overlooked dimensions of the current ecological crisis.

Mediation activities:

Maintenance 1: January 28, 7pm

Maintenance 2: February 15, 2pm


Finissage (démanchage):

February 27, 5pm


To book a visit: https://www.eisode.art/