At first glance, the landscapes of Somewhere seem to be familiar, like those we see when driving, or passing through margins of an urban space. However, it only takes a moment, when looking at these barren landscapes to feel troubled by their mood and intrigued by their details. Isabelle Hayeur focuses her attention on “non-sites”: wastelands, abandoned industrial sites, and modified natural environments. Making use of photography’s realistic effect, she uses digital photomontage to create a universe at the frontier of the real. Such a universe, like the indefinable places she captures, hovers continuously on the border of two realities, between nature and civilization, between truth and lie, between documentary and fiction. These constructions reiterate the constant interference that human activity enacts upon the landscape, creating disturbing new and possible worlds.

Isabelle Hayeur is a Montreal-based artist, working primarily in digital photography, video, and internet art. She obtained her M.F.A in 2002 from UQAM. Her work has been shown in numerous solo and group shows throughout Canada, since 1996. Isabelle was the recent recipient of “The Contact Prize for Emerging Artist” for her participation in the Mois de la Photo 2001 in Montreal.