At the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges civic center, artist Isabelle Parson's Jardin de verre, the third work created as part of the process of integrating arts and culture into the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital, was unveiled on Tuesday. 

The event brought together many local players, including mayors Claude Comeau, Guy Pilon, Bernard Daoust and François Bélanger, and mayors Mylène Labre and Julie Lemieux. Representatives of the Vaudreuil and Soulanges MNAs, Mélanie Maranda and Jeanne Turbide, were also present.

Representatives of the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest, including Bernard Cyr, Assistant Director General, General and Specialized Physical Health Programs, and members of the Board of Directors of the Fondation de l'hôpital de Vaudreuil-Soulanges also took part in the unveiling. 

More than twenty people were on hand to discover the work. 

"It's a real honor for our organization to be part of this process, which is a wonderful reflection of the community aspect we wish to put forward with the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital. The sense of community is very strong and very important to us, and this is reflected in this magnificent creation.The CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest would like to extend its warmest thanks to Isabelle Parson and everyone involved in this project," said Bernard Cyr, Assistant General Manager, General and Specialized Physical Health Programs, CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest.

For her part, Julie Lemieux, President of the Conseil des arts et de la culture de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, commented: "I'm very proud to see the concrete collaboration between the various partners - the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest, the hospital project team, and the gardens and greenhouses that hosted the workshops. As the initiator of the project, the Conseil des arts et de la culture de Vaudreuil-Soulanges is delighted to see the result of 4 years of work and collaboration."

A luminous garden

The work, entitled Jardin de verre, is intended to evoke and highlight the community aspect of the future hospital and anchor it in its community.

Through alternative photography workshops held in local greenhouses, artist Isabelle Parson enabled participants and future users of the hospital to connect with it and make it their own.The artist took this community aspect into account, proposing an innovative concept aimed at all local residents. 

Through her workshops, the artist wished to illustrate a symbolic parallel between the greenhouse and the hospital, both dedicated to the care and cultivation of life.In this way, she guided the creation of a work that is both intimate and collective, micro and macro, perpetual and ephemeral. 

"My partner and I took part in one of your creative sessions on September 19. Thank you so much for sharing this experience with us. We can't wait to see your creation," say Maryse and Yanis, two participants in the workshop presented at Atelier Paysan in Vaudreuil-Dorion.

The creative process

For the artist, the project was divided into three phases: research, creation and realization.In the research phase, Ms. Parson wanted to generate, catalogue and share new knowledge about the photosensitivity of the region's indigenous, wild, beneficial and edible flora, since little data exists about Quebec flora.

Ms. Parson chose to work with plants found in the landscaping plan for the future hospital, plants growing near the construction site and plants from local market gardeners, such as Ferme les Petites Écores. During this phase, the photosensitivity of 80 species of local flora was tested and catalogued.Ms. Parson will be continuing this research at the Jardin botanique de Montréal in the spring.Secondly, five workshops were held in Vaudreuil-Soulanges greenhouses and gardens: at Champs de Rêve, with a group of art studies students from École secondaire de la Cité-des-Jeunes; at the Collège Bourget greenhouse, with a group of Grade 6 students; at Atelier Paysan; at Ferme Les Petites Écores; and at Verger Labonté. 

During the workshops, participants were invited to create a miniature work using the anthotype process. The workshops resulted in the creation of 404 miniature works, inserted in as many microscope slides and assembled in a large-format collective work. In all, 125 participants aged 2 to 89 contributed to the work. 

Finally, the artist assembled the works produced by the participants.She also inserted her own creations in the panels, including some fifty with clinical or hospital-related objects. The aim of these inclusions is to bring out the playful, lively and sometimes unsuspected aspect of clinical or hospital objects.The result is a large, colorful, transparent glass curtain that evokes the relationship between science and nature. 

"I'd like to thank everyone who supported me in the realization of this great and beautiful project.More specifically, I'd like to thank the people at Ferme Les Petites Écores, the municipality of Pointe-Fortune, the CISSSMO team, the CACVS team, and my father and mother for their technical help. Thank you for everything," said the artist at the unveiling.

A little of the work to share

Five of the micro-pieces were also used to create a series of greeting cards given to people involved in the Hospital Foundation and to the mayors of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region. 

"I'd like to highlight the collaborative efforts of the various players in our community. I'm proud of the involvement of our elementary and high school students in the realization of this magnificent project.This large-scale exercise, involving a number of different bodies, shows us once again that there are no limits to the scope and creativity of art's involvement in different projects. An additional work of art worthy of our dynamic region," said Jeanne Turbide, on behalf of Marilyne Picard, MNA for Soulanges and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister for Health and Seniors.

The work is currently on display at the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges offices, pending the opening of the hospital in 2026.