Constructed from clay and a piece of maple found on a maple grove in Très-Saint-Rédempteur, the work Cohabitation, by Saint-Lazare artist Annie DeLorimier, is now firmly rooted at the entrance to the Forestiers-de-Saint-Lazare nature park.

The work was unveiled to the public on Wednesday, October 16, in the presence of the artist, Ville de Saint-Lazare mayor Geneviève Lachance, town councillors Donald Andrews and Brian Trainor, and several other guests.

The four-foot-high piece depicts a hand on which two small birds are perched. Inside the hand are samaras, while at the foot of the piece are mushrooms and a small frog. While the main structure, the hand, is made of wood, the other elements are made from clay.

According to Annie DeLorimier, “an intimate relationship exists between wood and clay. Clay nourishes plants, and plants nourish the earth through their decomposition at the end of their life. In this way, the artist attempts to reveal the beauty of nature, and hopes to encourage reflection on the conservation of natural environments, “the lungs of the earth, whose luxuriance ensures biodiversity”, she adds.

The approach is far from isolated or spontaneous. It was initiated by filmmaker and documentary-maker André Desrochers, a great lover of the arts and the environment. As part of the development of a documentary on Suroît trees, he enlisted the services of regional artists to show how trees continue to enrich us, even after death, when they pass into the hands of passionate, dedicated artists.

“This project is the last in my trilogy on the Suroît. In the first documentary, I tackled the question of marshes, in the second, water, and to finish, I wanted to talk about forests and trees. This time, I gave myself the additional challenge of not having an actor in front of the camera, but rather voices. So it's the trees that tell us the stories,” explains the documentary filmmaker and founding member of the community television network, CSUR la télé.

The film, Des arbres et des arts, which opens on Earth Day, April 22, 2025, features six short stories told by trees. The director wanted to highlight endangered trees, exceptional trees, common trees and the life of trees with mushrooms. A sequence in the film is also dedicated to the maple, Quebec's emblematic tree. 

“At the end of each sequence, we present a positive action that was taken in the area where the story takes place. In Saint-Lazare, for example, we talk about the planting of pine trees to protect the soil and sand in the aquifers. Then I wanted to take the exercise a step further by asking artists to give trees a second life by creating a work of art. Hence the creation of Cohabitation by Annie DeLorimier,” adds Desrochers.

Participating artists included Chantal Bourque, Louise Page and Richard Caplette, who were also present at Wednesday's unveiling. Their works will be displayed in Beauharnois and the Haut-Saint-Laurent MRC, among others. 

At Ville de Saint-Lazare, André Desrochers' creative process quickly charmed elected officials and administrators, as environmental values are cherished and ingrained in all municipal services.

“I'm really impressed by Annie's talent. The piece fits in perfectly with the Forestiers-de-Saint-Lazare nature park. People will be able to come and admire it all year round. The work created from a tree, albeit dead, that comes to life here in a new artistic form embodies the very essence of our community, respect for nature and the enhancement of our natural heritage. This tree, once a symbol of life, now becomes a work of art that invites us to reflect on our connection with nature and how we can pay tribute to it.  On behalf of the people of Saint-Lazare, I'd like to thank Annie DeLorimier for this remarkable contribution to our cultural heritage. It's a wonderful gift, and we're going to take good care of it,” said Mayor Geneviève Lachance.