Independence and Quebec
The notion of independence resonates strongly in the recent political history of Quebec. The sovereignist movement which arose at the same time as the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s, materializing with the election of the Parti Québécois in 1976 and then the referendum of 1980, reached its culmination with that held on October 30, 1995, won narrowly by the proponents of Canadian federalism. Indeed, the final result was 49.42% for YES and 50.58% for NO, a difference of just over 54,000 votes. The weeks and months preceding this major popular consultation were rich in passionate debates and major demonstrations opposing the two camps, that of YES and that of NO. Since then, the idea of independence which seemed definitively moribund has resurfaced with the growing popularity of the Parti Québécois. Are we on the eve of a third referendum? To be continued…
(This exhibition is presented on the occasion of the launch of the book Agence Stock Photo – a history of photojournalism in Quebec 1987 – 2017).
Agence Stock Photo
BENOIT AQUIN practices hybrid photography between documentary and contemporary art. He is mainly interested in the conflictual relationship between humans and the territory. His work has been presented in numerous museums, galleries and institutions in Quebec and internationally. Winner of the Pictet Prize in 2008, his photographs are among several museum, institutional and private collections. He is represented by Galerie Hugues Charbonneau in Montreal.
NORMAND BLOUIN was a correspondent for AFP (Montreal) and Reuters (Senegal). He collaborated with news agencies such as Polaris (New York) for which he was assigned to the White House. His photos have been published in Le Point, Le Devoir, L’Express, the New York Times, Time magazine, the Jerusalem Post and the Guardian.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS LEBLANC is one of the co-founders of the Stock Photo Agency. His work has been regularly published in the Quebec and international press, and his photographs have been the subject of several national and foreign exhibitions. His practice is part of photojournalism and is part of the tradition of humanist documentary photography. She tends to bear witness to her contemporaries and to society in motion.
Exhibition presented within the framework of the Zoom Photo Festival Saguenay.
For more information on the Zoom Photo Festival Saguenay, consult the zoomphotofestival.ca
