Cousineau lived and worked in Montreal, Ottawa, France, and England. He was a conceptual artist who produced paintings, photography, and installation art. His photographic work of the 1970s and 1980s includes a series of black and white portraits, landscapes, and street photography. In 1977 he published Mona Nima, a poetic and intimate collection of photographs inspired by John Max’s earlier photo book, Open Passport (1973). Mona Nima is composed of thirty-four black and white images, including The Boat, 1972. He taught at the University of Moncton and the University of Ottawa.

Image: Sylvain P. Cousineau, The Boat, 1973, printed 1976, gelatin silver print, 20.3 x 25.3 cm; image: 15.8 x 23.4 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

For further reading, see:

Cousineau, Sylvain P. Mona Nima. Almonte: Powys Press, 1977.

Cousineau, Sylvain P., and Philip Fry. Sylvain P. Cousineau: Photographs and Paintings. Regina: Dunlop Art Gallery in collaboration with the Walter Phillips Gallery, 1980.

Hardy-Vallée, Michel. “The Photobook as Variant: Exhibiting, Projecting, and Publishing John Max’s Open Passport.” History of Photography 43, no. 4 (2019): 399–421.