Emilie St.Hilaire is an interdisciplinary artist currently pursuing doctoral studies in the Humanities at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Her research seeks to understand and redefine practices with digital technology in relation to attention, awareness, and the body. Emilie’s research extends into the fields of sensory studies, anthropology, art, communication studies, and design.
Eastern yogic traditions are an integral part of Emilie’s research and methodology. It is the intention of these philosophies that the habits cultivated in meditative practice extend to all aspects of life. By studying the relationship between movement, perception, and attention, she hopes to challenge consumerist, distraction-based cultural practices by creating art works that offer opportunities for viewers to step outside of habitual encounters with technological tools, and observe the perceptual stimuli being presented and produced. Subjective and embodied experience offers the potential for a critical return to the body, creating an awareness of states of consciousness, and perceptual experiences, in contrast to the disembodied habits naturalized in the timespaces of 24/7 culture. Establishing a grounded relationship to the body is essential to understanding the boundaries and functioning of technological prosthetics.
Originally from the francophone community of St-Boniface, in Winnipeg Manitoba, Emilie attended the University of Manitoba’s School of Art for her BFA Honours and in 2014 she completed her Master’s of Fine Arts in Drawing and Intermedia at the University of Alberta. Emilie has exhibited her work at galleries and festivals including Harcourt House (Edmonton), Latitude 53 (Edmonton), DC3 Art Projects (Edmonton), The Toronto Urban Film Festival (Toronto), Ace Art (Winnipeg), and has received grants and awards from organizations including the Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Edmonton Arts Council. She has participated in artist residencies at Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art (Winnipeg, Canada), The Banff Centre (Banff, Canada), CAMAC art centre (Marnay-sur-Seine, France) and in 2015 Emilie was one of only two artists chosen from North America to attend the WARP Contemporary Art Platform International Artist Village at the Brugge Triennale (Bruges, Belgium).
