Emmanuelle Léonard
Hercules, Winnipeg-Resolute

2019

The works Le champ de tir; Hercules, Winnipeg-Resolute; Ranger la nuit, Resolute; Soldat la nuit, Resolute and Impressions, Arctique are taken from a body of work undertaken by Emmanuelle Léonard during a research residency in the Canadian Far North sponsored by the Canadian Forces Artists Program.

In extremely rigorous climatic conditions, Emmanuelle Léonard made a series of photographs of soldiers, Rangers, camps and a firing range. The images were captured as she moved through the territory with the troops, mainly by snowmobile in the surrounding areas and by bush plane for expeditions farther afield.

While pursuing her residency, Emmanuelle Léonard shared in the soldiers’ and Inuit Rangers’ everyday life. She acquired considerable research experience in the various settings in which she has immersed herself to work.

In the course of Operation Nunalivut, her cameras recorded the mission’s participants: their activities and expectations, their movements and periods at rest. During training, she most often encountered masked silhouettes covered from head to toe to avoid frostbite. At other times, some faces were unveiled.