À fleur de roche is a cycle of two Montreal exhibitions presented simultaneously at the Georges Vanier Cultural Center and at Atelier Circulaire. Combining silkscreened images, ceramics and waste from his own consumption, Xavier Orssaud navigates between two sensitive worlds with opposing time scales: the organic and the mineral. The exploration of their ambiguous links allows him to rethink the living and to redefine the place of the human in his environment.

The installation exhibited at the CCGV serves as a fable on the future of our food: from the remains of his own food, Xavier Orssaud creates false fossils oscillating between stone and rot. An archipelago of cooked dishes takes shape and presents itself as relics, traces of an imaginary archaeology suggesting new narratives of positive anticipation. In dialogue with George Vanier's work, the exhibition at Atelier Circulaire questions the way in which humans represent nature, and denounces the way in which Western societies have shaped and exploited it over the centuries. In this context, the notion of landscape seems to be central, as it summarizes the artificial and fantasized look that human beings continue to have on their environment.

Biography
Xavier Orssaud puts into image and space current issues raised by the environmental crisis and the socio-cultural upheavals it engenders. He holds a master's degree from the École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts de Paris Cergy as well as two bachelor's degrees from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne in Plastic Arts and Aesthetics and Art Sciences. In Quebec, her work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions at La Cenne Gallery (Montreal, 2021), the Biennale Internationale d'Estampe Contemporaine (Trois-Rivières, 2021), Livart (Montreal, 2020) and Open Studio (Toronto, 2019). His research-creation projects have been supported by the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec twice (2019 and 2021). In 2021, he was the recipient of the first edition of the CIRCA-Silex residency program. French and Canadian, he lives and works between Paris and Montreal.