Alexia Laferté Coutu: REACH Scotland Resident
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop is delighted to welcome back Alexia Laferté Coutu for a REACH Scotland Residency during the month of June.
This four-week residency will support the continued development of her project Sulfure vif, which began in 2023 during her Darling Newhaven Residency at ESW. Sulfure vif originated as a close study of St Bernard’s and St Margaret’s Wells in Edinburgh, which continued upon her return to Quebec, where she explored springs in Potton, Joliette, Varennes, and Chambord. Through a series of sculptural interventions on the well’s surfaces, Laferté Coutu aims to create symbolic and physico-chemical parallels between curative springs used across different times and places. She is collaborating with Professor Jean-François Masson (Université de Montréal) to analyze water samples collected directly from the springs. Bronze patinas will be made to reflect the characteristics and mineral data from each site, both for the Scottish wells and the Quebec springs.
While in Scotland, she is collaborating with independent curator Katherine Murphy. Together, they will present elements of their research — including photographs, texts, and sculptural fragments — culminating in an in-conversation event at the end of the residency.
Presentation of research: Alexia Laferté Coutu in-conversation with curator Katherine Murphy
27th June, 2025
5 pm – 6:30 pm
Research space
Alexia Laferté Coutu is a Canadian artist based in Montreal, Québec. Her sculptures reveal a dialogue between constructed narratives and sensorial, intuitive experiences. Originating with the pressing of fresh clay or copper onto the stones of historical buildings, objects and monuments, her works become records, bearing the residues of architecture, environment, weather, and the process of transfer itself. Her approach subverts the traditional function of molding, creating a formal abstraction and introducing a gap between the captured object and the final sculpture.
Laferté Coutu’s work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions, notably at Nicolas Robert Gallery, Toronto (2023); Darling Foundry, Montreal (2022); Doosan Gallery, Seoul (2020); and Galerie de l’UQÀM, Montreal (2018). She is the recipient of the Pierre Ayot Prize (2023), and studied at Concordia University, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her works are part of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec collection, the City of Montreal collection, and private collections in Canada and internationally.
Katherine Murphy is a Scottish, working class, feminist, independent curator. Her practice is rooted in fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and creating inclusive environments that support long-term relationships. She is committed to slow curatorial approaches that centre care, accessibility, and collective knowledge-sharing, working closely with artists and organisations to develop meaningful, responsive projects.
Her recent projects include; ‘Unfolding Corespondent’exhibition and publication with Dundee Contemporary Arts (2024-25), the seminar series ‘Curators as Community Builders: Care Towards Collaboration’ (2024) organised with Jenny Tipton and Polly Wright through the British Art Network’s Emerging Curators Group,‘Galalith’solo exhibition and publication with Lauren Gault, with Temple Bar Gallery and Studios Dublin (2022). She was a Fellow with Jerwood Curatorial Accelerator Fellowship (2022- 2023).
Image credits
Top: St Margaret’s Well, c. 1490”, 1 of 16 (detail : gating system), bronze, 2023-2025.
Photo credit: Paul Litherland.
Above: Alexia Lafetrté Coutu,
Phot credit: Vincent Lafrance
