Claude Cormier’s remix of his annual installation in Montreal’s Gay Village has a new colour scheme and a more pluralistic message. For the latest edition, Cormier shaded the 180,000 suspended balls of recycled plastic by expanding the six bands of the LGBTQI rainbow flag into a palette of 18 distinct hues. Without sacrificing any of the fun and fabulousness of its monochromatic pink predecessor, the change alters the work’s message to one of diversity, inclusion and nuance. Now a fixture of the district’s summer landscape, the colourful cumulus clouds still serve their original function: wayfinding in the pedestrian portion of Aires Libres, a popular art walk and revitalization project that runs from May to September.
Project: 18 Shades of Gay Location: Montreal, Canada Firm: Claude Cormier + Associés, Canada
Team: Claude Cormier, Yannick Roberge, Guillaume Paradis and Damien Dupuis with Yves Allard, Gilles Arpin, Rig-Rite Productions and Les productions du Grand Bambou
