THE PHILOSOPHY
OF JOCELYN LEGAULT, SPACE DIVISION

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Jocelyn Legault, artist-designer, has long been fascinated by the mysteries of the universe.

Communing with nature in the twilight of a forest, its canopy filtered by starlight; or standing on the shores of a deep lake, upon whose silent surface the moon seems to gaze at her own reflection, Jocelyn's creativity takes flight. His passion for the wonders of infinity has inspired him to design sleighs in spaceship form. Jocelyn’s work exists in order that the imagination - especially that of children - can help people to overcome the limits imposed upon them and the limits

which they impose upon themselves. Jocelyn creates his sublime sleighs for little human beings, and it is their dreams he wants to help take flight on his creations through the miracle of space.

 

 

The only limit that Jocelyn sets himself is the terrestrial environment that ensures his survival. With the creation of his “Space Division” sleighs, he hopes to go even further: to transcend culture, religion and politics by making children happy. Jocelyn is motivated by the conviction that we have a duty of care towards future generations. He believes that we, just as many indigenous peoples in Canada do, should take only what we need, and be thankful for it. The Earth is home to billions of human beings on the Earth; Jocelyn is certain that we should use only that which can be regenerated or recycled, such as the materials he uses to create his sleighs.

 

For Jocelyn, his art is not only the realisation of the sleigh itself or the transformation of the raw material; it is also the embodiment of creativity. It is of no consequence whether others call him a designer, draftsman, artist, craftsman, assembler, machinist, thinker…. Jocelyn celebrates the concept of ​​going beyond categorizations. He uses his many and various inspirations and skills to give a second vocation to a primordial object from the past.

 

There is coherence in his thought and his creation. Consistency is essential for Jocelyn. Everything must make sense, and he feels sense is often lacking in our industrialized world. But Jocelyn's Space Division sleighs give children the opportunity of rediscovering the simple and eternal pleasures of playing in nature; or of imagining themselves taking a journey through the solar system, the universe… even crossing the threshold of infinity. A child's imagination is limitless, just like Jocelyn's. His only goal is to reach his real customers: little ones. No dog is needed to pull the Space Division sleighs, or any of Jocelyn’s other creations! A Christmas reindeer, or an extra-terrestrial friend, or even a parent, grandparent, big sister or big brother will suffice!

 

For young enthusiasts of his work, Jocelyn has created a canoe-sleigh with a copper-foil hull attached with spruce roots and assembled with huge bronze hex bolts. This new sleigh, in the shape of a flying saucer, is made of aluminium fixed with sinew lacing and covered with hairy cowhide. Every creator uses the tools of their own time. As long as the thought, the philosophy, the implementation, the tools, the materials and, of course, the environment are coherent, Jocelyn is there to make children smile. In the case of crafted objects, of hand-made creations, Jocelyn believes, as many others do, that the main ingredient is the energy, spiritual and physical, which we put into the materials ...

 

Jocelyn finds it interesting that often the only things that survive a civilization are objects. And if an object can be created with patience, tenderness, inspiration, and hope, it is a beautiful legacy to leave to our descendants in the distant future, in time… and in space.