Danae Brissonnet’s The Matchstick Girl (La Glaneuse d'allumettes) is a visceral piece of public art that transforms brick into a narrative of 19th-century industrial labor. The central figure, the Glaneuse, acts as a metaphor for the E.B. Eddy factory. Her body consists of pipes and doors. Observe the little women filing into her frame with their heads aflame. This is a raw, surrealist depiction of the women who sacrificed their health to the E.B. Eddy assembly line.
Brissonnet uses the imagery of smoke, forming a jagged, jaw-like shape, to evoke the devastating reality of maxillary necrosis caused by white phosphorus exposure. The sun and flakes adorning the figure's head represent the dream of a better tomorrow. Every match in this mural is a face, a life, and a memory. This work serves as a reminder that beneath the machinery of history, there were human lives and the collective power that eventually sparked the birth of the first unions.
Source: Plaque accompanying the mural, adapted for OTTAWALLS.
Explore the Culture Trail
This mural is a part of the Gatineau Culture Trail. This curated pathway through the downtown core turns city streets into an open-air gallery. The trail provides a platform for local art and elevates the voices of local artists. Check it out here.
Photo by
ottawalls
Commissioned by
Ville de Gatineau / City of Gatineau
