Des-compositions du droit: An exhibition of legal thought, interpreted through paint
A unique artistic journey devoted to the principles of law as it relates to people and their things.
Oct 11, 2023 — 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On October 11, 2023, visit the Ottawa Art Gallery at 4:00 p.m. to undertake a unique artistic journey devoted to the principles of law as it relates to people and their things.
Lawyer and artist Dilara Dadbin has spent many years immersed in the world of law, developing a passion for analyzing legal data and expressing it through visual art. What does legal thought look like? Can the reality of law be captured in images? Can legal concepts gain new life through form and colour?
This new exhibit aims to answer those questions, taking inspiration from the work of legal researchers Mariève Lacroix and Alicia Mâzouz, both of whom study the links between the human body and the law.
This event is open to everyone. Refreshments will be provided.
Upcoming art exhibit asks “Is it possible to paint the law?”
Is a human body a thing? Can it be owned? What happens to it when it dies? These are complex questions that law seeks to answer through language and abstract concepts. Ms. Dadbin explores these abstractions as she translates the language of law into the language of visual art, leading us towards a new understanding of law and our relationship with it.
This exhibition of oil paintings is the first milestone in the development of a current of thought that aims to make art a new vector for legal research and teaching.
After this inaugural showing in Ottawa, the exhibit will next appear in Paris in 2024.
This exhibit is the result of a collaboration between the University of Ottawa’s Civil Section de droit civil, the Chaire-miroir Ottawa-Lyon, the Observatoire pluridisciplinaire sur le devenir du droit privé and the Université catholique de Lille’s Centre de recherche sur les relations entre les risques et le droit.
Dilara Dadbin is a lawyer and artist who works with universities, law firms and various international institutions to explore and practice her unique combination of art and law.
Mariève Lacroix is a Full Professor in the Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law, whose research interests include private law and comparative law, with a specific focus on the topics of civil liability, fundamental human rights, and the legal status of the human body after death.
Alicia Mâzouz holds a doctorate in private law and is a lecturer at the Université catholique de Lille. Her research focuses on the link between the human body and the law, the sources of law, and the tension between law and new technologies.