Born in Québec city, Laurence Vallières is famous for her large-scale sculptures in cardboard. Vallières studied at Concordia University in visual arts before doing an exchange program in Los Angeles to further her knowledge in ceramics. After doing an artist residency in Russia she appropriated the street art influence in her work. Vallièresâ cardboard sculptures are based on animal imagery. The artist successfully expresses what is common and mundane in a way that makes it interesting and novel by using a material that is ubiquitous in our urban world yet often passes unnoticed.
The process always begins with a sketch and eventually evolves into a figurine. As the animal takes shape, in a mystical way, it starts to adopt a personality of its own. The artistâs use of cardboard as a medium is as important as the figures portrayed. Itâs widely available and very often discarded. The use of cardboard in Vallièresâ work is intended to echo the notions of the impermanence and fragility of nature.
