Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, Isabelle Pauwels is currently  based in Montreal. She received a BFA from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (Vancouver) in 2001, and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. Working primarily in video and installation, her blend of performance and documentary realism explores the fraught relationship between narrative conventions and everyday social interaction. Recently Isabelle has exhibited at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Montreal; the National Gallery of Canada; and Dazibao, Montreal. Her work has screened at The Cinematheque, Vancouver; Schneiderei Studio/Gallery, Vienna; and The Experimental Media & Performing Arts Centre at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY.