Parc-Extension is once again making its mark on the Montreal art scene with the launch of a bold new exhibition that blends technology, history, and sensory experience. From June 11 to August 17, 2025, the Maison de la culture de Parc-Extension will host Études Ectoplasmiques, a unique collaboration between acclaimed artists Sarah Wendt and Pascal Dufaux.
More than just a gallery show, Études Ectoplasmiques is a fully immersive and multisensory experience. Visitors will be drawn into a strange and captivating world built on video projections, sculpture, drawing, and reimagined materials. The exhibition is a speculative archive—part science fiction, part spiritual séance—blending internet culture with early 20th-century parapsychology, molecular forms, and ecological collapse. At the core lies an artistic inquiry into humanity’s deep fascination with material excess, transformation, and entropy.
“With this exhibition, the Maison de la culture in Parc-Extension reaffirms its role as a space of discovery and reflection on our ever-evolving world,” said Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, Mayor of the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough. “It’s a powerful platform for local creativity and a unique opportunity to examine our relationship with matter and imagery from a fresh perspective.”
A Dialogue Between Body, Space, and Substance
Artists Sarah Wendt and Pascal Dufaux, active collaborators since 2016, have developed a singular style that merges visual art with movement and the physicality of dance. Their work investigates how energy flows between body, space, and material, crafting projects that feel as temporal and elusive as they are tangible. Known for their installations in Canada, Europe, and the UK, the duo is particularly celebrated for creating works that provoke deep emotional and sensory responses.
Their latest installation includes imagery drawn from séances, environmental catastrophe, and decaying detritus, assembled into a visual and tactile matrix of poetic speculation. The result is a futuristic taxonomy—part ghost story, part ecological warning—that asks viewers to reconsider what it means to archive and remember.
Civic Significance: Art as Community Catalyst
Hosting Études Ectoplasmiques is not merely a cultural event for Parc-Extension; it is a civic moment. In a neighbourhood known for its rich diversity, socio-economic challenges, and dynamic history of immigration, the exhibition speaks to broader themes of memory, presence, and transformation.
The Maison de la culture de Parc-Extension has long been a critical civic space—one that provides residents of all backgrounds access to high-caliber artistic experiences, free of charge. This exhibition continues that mission by not only offering an entry point into contemporary art for new audiences, but also fostering a sense of collective engagement with complex questions about history, environment, and identity.
