Project Description – Pépinière numérique (Digital Greenhouse)
Artist-in-Residence: Courtney Clinton
January 13 – July 4, 2025 | Bibliothèques de Saint-Hyacinthe
As part of a residency supported by the Montérégie-Est Territorial Partnership Program, multidisciplinary artist Courtney Clinton is developing Pépinière numérique (Digital Greenhouse), a series of digitally fabricated sculptures inspired by plant life and cultural symbolism. Working in the library’s digital lab, Clinton is using 3D modeling and printing technologies to explore how plants can serve as metaphors for identity, migration, and collective memory.
At the heart of the project is a large-scale sculpture of the sumac flower, a plant that carries dramatically different meanings across cultures. In Iran, where Clinton’s husband is from, sumac is a cherished spice with deep cultural and culinary significance. In contrast, in Quebec, the plant grows wild along roadsides and is often dismissed as a weed. Through this work, Clinton reflects on how a single species can be simultaneously revered and overlooked—depending on context.
The sculpture’s abstract form, inspired by modernist sculptors such as Henry Moore, is overlaid with an intricate geometric motif drawn from the Dome of Hafez in Shiraz. This choice invites reflection on the complex intersections between cultural inspiration, appropriation, and colonial histories, as the monument itself was designed by a French architect during a colonial archaeological expedition.
The public is invited to visit the artist’s studio at the library every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and the final work will be exhibited on-site at the conclusion of the residency.
This project is made possible with support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the MRC des Maskoutains, the Table de concertation régionale de la Montérégie, and Culture Montérégie.
Mock up of final exhibition display