Anne Bertrand is a photographer based in Montreal, Canada.
She's graduated in photography at the Concordia University and in 2014 she self-published her first book "Laval".
She's graduated in photography at the Concordia University and in 2014 she self-published her first book "Laval".
Laval is the result of a fascination that took shape following a series of nighttime wanderings on its territory. I drove on empty strip mall roads so that my attention could strictly focus on urban planning, architecture and lighting strategies. These nights in Laval allowed me to discover a unique kind of aesthetic – based on colour and flamboyant randomness. The banal that was once familiar now had a flavour. After that, the exploration was transformed into a more immersive act. The surroundings were not only tableaux but also atmospheric sceneries. The aim was to become part of them in order to better understand the tendency. So I decided to dive into Laval’s culture gradually, doing subtle interventions, which I calculated rigorously.
Thus, Laval is a three steps project: Exploration, Infiltration and Immersion. The book is a documentation of a progressive performance: Myself as a consumer X. One of the most interesting research paths resides in the notion of design as a semantic event. Indeed, Laval’s urban plan has been shaped to communicate very precise messages. Its design is quick, it is one of entertainment and consumerism that is escaping from every other styles or trends. Laval is an eclectic mix of symbols that come from its diversified population base.
