Michelle
Caron-
Pawlowsky
Projects
About/CV
Finishing Holds questions the transformation of rituals and asks what forms a modern ritual can take. Finishing Holds, a title alluding to both the final move of a wrestling match and the final instance of holding a loved one, uses the language and visual universe of pro-wrestling as a metaphor through which to explore complex networks of care, absence, loss, touch, fragility, and grief. This project considers personal experiences with grief and reimagines the mourning ritual through the lens of pro-wrestling, drawing on the history of public combat as an ancient commemorative funeral ceremony.
Installation view of the exhibition Ignition at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery. Courtesy of the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University, Montreal, 2025. Photo: Jean-Michael Seminaro