Sylvie Cotton

Sylvie Cotton’s practice encompasses performance, action art, photography, and writing, though increasingly it focuses on drawing. Her work primarily explores the body as material and the relationship with the Other through performative approaches to themes that are at times intimate and at others social.

At the heart of her recent research, reality remains the starting point for what is projected into the space of the drawing; however, it is approached through observed phenomena rooted directly in perceptual experience. This new body of work should be viewed not as an exploration of time—as was the case with her earlier drawings—but rather of space (both internal and external) and the interdependence of the objects moving through it. The resulting works are grounded in an attentiveness to instinct, captured in the moment. This output unfolds through various chapters, series, or themes: burned drawings, danced drawings, breathed drawings, blown drawings, copied drawings, drawn drawings, beauty marks, foliage, tracings of light and shadow, and stains and drips.

Sylvie Cotton is an interdisciplinary artist based in Montreal. Her artistic projects primarily involve performance, drawing, and writing, often centering on the creation of situations that foster connections with others or allow for infiltration into another person’s world. Her work frequently takes place *in situ* during public events (in galleries or festivals) or outside museum walls in other public spaces—such as streets, elevators, parks, or restaurants. Artist residencies also serve as a vehicle for her performative creative process. Cotton is also an author and curator; she has organized events, edited publications, and served on numerous visual arts working groups and committees. She has presented her performances and exhibitions in Quebec, the United States, Finland, Estonia, Spain, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Japan.