Head to the small town of Mont-Saint-Hilaire in southern Quebec right now and you'll be able to experience an exciting, open-air exhibition taking place on an apple orchard. Now in its sixth year, Land Art Mont-Saint-Hilaire is a cultural event that brings together 12 professional artists who, within five days, transform leaves, apples, branches, rocks and other found materials into beautiful and thought-provoking works of land art. The event attracts thousands of visitors each year who come to see inspiring works like that of artist Agnes Dumouchel who, this year, created Eve Il, a giant mandala made of apples and black soil surrounding a tree.
Winner of this year's Audience Award, the mandala is meant to emphasize the sacred relationship between man and nature. Step back and you'll even see a familiar image. “If you look at the mandala long enough, you can see an eye, important in the central concept of enlightenment found in the title, EVE IL,” she says.
While the free event was officially held from October 10 to October 14, the site will be accessible until the arrival of the first snowfall. As all land art, the artworks are meant to return back to the earth. Interestingly, some installations from previous years have braved the test of time and are still in place.
Photos via [Pierre Arnoldi], [Alain Lemyre for Agnes Dumouchel]
