A wall of flickering images depicts the many details of multimedia artist Paul Wongâ€s daily life. Each image is visible for no more than half a second. The viewer is struck by the overwhelming quantity of content, and by the obsessive collecting that allowed its creation. Some of the GIFs include: geometric abstractions, a blooming rose, an iPhone message asking for confirmation to delete a photo, and a naked backside seen under a Pop Art filter. The personal mixes with the public, the figurative with the abstract, and the amateur with the professional. The images burn with the intensity of the everyday.

Capturing and exploring identity through digital imagery has always been an integral part of Wongâ€s practice. As one of Canadaâ€s most respected, and prolific, artists he investigates what it is to be oneself in a society where itâ€s easy to be engulfed by overwhelming external influences and perspectives. Throughout his 40-year career, Wong has seen different technologies come and go. For many years, he carried two heavy cameras everywhere he went – one for video, and one for still photographs. Nowadays, his kit is much lighter. At a talk to open his exhibit Multi-Verse at Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal (MPM), he explained how smart phones have revolutionized his practice, saying, “Since I got the iPhone 6, itâ€s all I carry.”

This new media aspect of Wongâ€s works allows it to speak to what MPM curator, Joan Fontcuberta, identifies as the establishment of a “new visual order”. As one of the biennialâ€s key conceptual frameworks, this idea incorporates the notion that societyâ€s relationship with the image is fundamentally changing. Nowadays, images are: largely digital, readily available, and easily transmissible. Their now ubiquitous nature means individuals communicate via images on a day-to-day basis. Wong presents four pieces as part of the exhibit. Each work offers us a glimpse into the artistâ€s world, and most are an expression of his identity as seen through his social media. One piece is an outdoor video installation, and the remaining three are presented at Galerie Joyce Yahouda.

In #LLL, Looking, Listening, Looping (2014), Wong covers a wall of the gallery with 40 tablets – each screen plays GIF animations on a continuous loop. Like much of his recent work, it was created and edited entirely on a smart phone. Each of the GIFs and videos were initially shared with his social media community through free apps like Vine, Snapchat, Instagram, and GIF Boom. He said that at the time he didnâ€t give much thought as to what he may do with the images, and certainly didnâ€t plan to present them in a gallery one day. Their sole context was to be shared with his community of followers, online. The GIF and video content is varied, and ranges from selfies to more abstract imagery. In total, Wong presents 75 minutes of work, the equivalent of a feature length film; he said he considers each GIF as a scene from his life.

Standing in front of the installation, itâ€s difficult to focus on any one tablet. However, to see each image within a GIF, it needs to be watched through at least a few repetitions. There is a sensation of distracted attentiveness that feels similar to being overwhelmed by online images, or scrolling through a Facebook feed. The feeling of being inundated by multiple photos, by the sheer quantity of content, is an integral part of Wongâ€s work. It raises the question: what is the point of all these images if itâ€s not possible to interact meaningfully with them?

Wongâ€s outdoor video installation, Year of GIF (2013), was created from the content he generated during his first year of GIF-making. Originally constructed as a site-specific piece for the Surrey Urban Screen, it was adapted for projection onto the brick wall outside Montrealâ€s Saint Laurent metro station. The work is a five-minute loop of 350 GIFs, all made on a smart phone. The content ranges from selfies, photographs featuring technology, individual portrait studies, art references, artworks, travel images, and architecture.

At his exhibit launch, Wong described how there is an interesting, yet tragic, link between his fascination with GIFs and his family life. Wongâ€s mother, who currently lives with him, suffers from dementia. In describing the situation, he said she lives in a “magical, abstract world” of non-linear time. Adding that her memory can play in constant loops, replaying certain events, while completely losing others. The poignant link between the nature of GIFs and his motherâ€s memory is not lost on the artist himself.

Wongâ€s third work, Solstice (2014), is a 24-minute video, which captures an infamous Vancouver street at intervals over a 24-hour period. Made using the pixel motion filter tool in After Effects, it evokes surveillance imagery, and shows the comings and goings of an area known as “Crack Alley” – a popular place for drug consumption and trafficking. The pixel motion filter makes it seem as though figures are continuously appearing out of, and then disappearing into, thin air. They materialize as if conjured by some external force.

Finally, Wong also presents Flash Memory (2010-2015), a four-channel video showing the iPhone photos he took over a four-year time period. Each channel is divided by year: 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The channels scroll through each image at a rapid pace like when uploading photos from a cell phone onto a laptop. Wong said he came across the idea by accident when he was watching an upload onto his own computer. He added that he finds the way we look at images now, the way we scroll through them rather than closely examining each file, is very different from in the past. All images – good, bad, different, useful and not useful – are merged together chronologically, and awarded equal value in terms of the space they occupy in our mental memories, and in our digital memory systems. This complete blurring of amateur, professional, personal and public, is something Wong wants to convey with the work. The excessive accumulation of images is also a key idea explored by other artists involved in the biennial.

Wong is based in Vancouver, and works as a practicing artist, and curator. He is also the co-founder of several artist run organizations, and the director of On Main Gallery, which has been operating since 1985. His work is included in public exhibits at the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), and the Canada Council Art Bank. His current exhibit, Multi-Verse, will be on display until October 10, 2015, at Galerie Joyce Yahouda.

Opening last week, the biennial – currently in its 14^th edition – features 29 artists (emerging and established) from 11 countries who will exhibit at 16 sites across Montreal over the month long event. Four artists will present their work in Belgo Building galleries. Conceptual artist and curator, Joan Fontcuberta, conceived of this yearâ€s theme, The Post-Photographic Condition. Each of the exhibits and the related discussions fit within one of the biennialâ€s three core conceptual frameworks, also conceived by Fontcuberta.

The first framework sees an exploration of the idea that weâ€re witnessing the establishment of a new visual order, which is changing the way images are understood and used. Images have now become immaterial, viewed solely as digital objects, and more easily shared than ever; the landscape is characterized by a massive increase in the number and the availability of all kinds of images. Their ubiquitous nature now means that photographs are not valued in the way they once were. Their ease of use, and ease of transmission, has also made communicating via images a day-to-day experience for most people.

Fontcuberta calls the second conceptual idea Reality Reloaded, with obvious reference to The Matrix. In the same way Neo plugged into the matrix, we are now able to engage with a parallel reality in the online world. Although the Internet can be said to act as a mirror of the real world, this mirror and our perception of the reflection is not always accurate. The line between reality and illusion, lies and truth, can be impossible to ascertain. Fontcuberta poses the questions: is what we see on our screens just an interface between subject and object, or is the online image its own reality – a documentation of the world in image form, and ultimately a new form of reality?

In the third framework, Reviewing the Subject, there is a dialogue discussing the way digital culture is changing our construction of society, and the fashioning of our individual identities. The “selfie” has created a new genre of imagery. It has had a huge effect on how people present their own image to the world – itâ€s the first time in history people have had complete and utter control over how their own personas are perceived by others. Even though, people’s reactions to these images are not always predictable.

The biennial also features a number of events, including: the presentation of the Dazibao Prize, artists†talks, a portfolio review session, workshops, and guided tours. MPM will conclude with a three-day conference, “À partir dâ€aujourdâ€hui … Reconsidering Photography,” in which nine invited scholars will give papers and form panels to discuss the theme and its associated issues. The biennial runs until October 11, 2015.

The Belgo Building will host four artists as part of the biennial:

Centre des Arts Actuels Skols
Christina Battle, “The people in this picture are standing on all that remained of a handsome residence.”

Galerie B-312
Liam Maloney, “Texting Syria”

Galerie Joyce Yahouda
Paul Wong, “Multiverse”

SBC Galerie dâ€Art Contemporain
Isabelle Le Minh, “Tous Décavés”

What role are we playing in these exchanges? Why do many encounters remain static, identical, leaving no space for thought or connection? Days can play out like a formula repeatedly entered into a spreadsheet – CTRL+C, CTRL+V, CTRL+C, CTRL+V.

Les Territories, is currently presenting the work of two emerging artists, Maria Meinild and Émilie Franceschin, who both explore life and societal norms as purely a performance. By examining the daily behavioral patterns that are embedded in our notion of normalcy, the artists allow the questioning of these ideas.

Maria Meinildâ€s video, Curtain, explores life as a staged presentation of our expectations and preconceived ideas of what life is, and what it should be. Incorporating elements from both theatre and film, and expressed as a dialogue with slight variations and repetitions, she forces the viewer to question the theatrics of daily life, and how necessary the performance is to maintain oneâ€s identity.

Mariaâ€s short video features two main characters, at times reading from a script and at times speaking naturally. The female character repeats the phrase, “It takes solid preparation to provide spontaneity,” at different speeds and intonations – like sheâ€s practising a line. Someone is introduced into the video as a “stranger” in the same way characters can be announced in theatre. The woman repeatedly corrects herself like sheâ€s made a mistake on a line and is restarting the scene. Artificial visual creations scatter the set; there are oranges, skewered with cocktail umbrellas and arranged on a table. At Les Territories the video is projected onto a round surface that feels almost like youâ€re looking through a telescope or a pair of binoculars.

Émilie Franceschinâ€s series, Secrets, is presented in an adjacent room to Mariaâ€s work, and is more tactile and tangible in its exhibition. It includes an assortment of objects, images and a video, which all culminated in a performance on Saturday June 20. The act called, Iâ€ll Be Back Soon, saw the artist invite attendees to step into her journeys to understand her repeated struggles, real and imagined.

The objects created in advance of the performance are on display at Les Territoires for the duration of the exhibition. Her photographs, drawings and artifacts interact to reveal the work behind her performance, during the conception and before the execution. These objects offered audience members a new way of approaching the performance, which ultimately must be experienced. Viewers entered the act having seen these tangible materials and with a deeper understanding of the history and motivations that have driven the artistâ€s work. Émilie explores the body, its visceral quality, and intimate relationships with its surroundings. The performance, like a secret, is something that canâ€t be spoken – it must be experienced for it to become real and tangible.

The interactions between these two artists in the Les Territoires space is a fascinating one in that both approach this idea of life as performance in particularly unique, and moving, ways. Émilieâ€s idea draws its power from her very personal selection of artifacts, and her moving live performance. Mariaâ€s approach is impactful by forcing a sense of detachment and unreality between the characters in her video. Additionally, her piece is scripted and produced in a way that presents many layers for audience interpretation.

Both exhibits are on display at Les Territoires in the Belgo Building until July 4, 2015.

Maria Meinild

Maria completed an MFA from the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen; she has also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Working primarily in video, but also extending to photo, collage, and installation, she has exhibited at New Jörg and Kunstverein Das Weisse Haus in Vienna, at Fauna in Copenhagen, and at ReMap4 in Athens. She was born in Karlshamn, Sweden, and lives and works between Copenhagen and Vienna.

Émilie Franceschin

Émilie is a graduate of the Toulouse School of Fine Arts, and has presented at performance festivals in France, Italy, England, Belgium and Germany. She has also participated in residencies at Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, and in Dusseldorf. Recently she participated in the European Museums Night at the Calbet Museum in France. She lives and works in Toulouse.

Mathieu Levesque was at Galerie Trois Points last Saturday to give a talk about his work. He explained his approach to painting and gave some insights into the practical aspects of his process. For a review of his current show at Galerie Trois Points, see this post.

Here is a short video capturing the highlights of his gallery chat:

It’s that time of year again! Here are some of the exhibitions/events happening in the Belgo this month.

Galerie Trois-Points:
Reaction at a Distance: Collaborative Drawings – Kristin Bjornerud and Erik Jerezano
November 20th – December 18th, 2010
Their collaborative project is essentially a correspondence through drawing. Separately, each of them begins a set of drawings to be exchanged through the mail and completed by the other. When they started the work a year ago, the guidelines they laid out for themselves were quite simple: there would be no rules about how they could alter the original piece and there would be no quitting whatever the results. This sharing back and forth without boundaries allowed them to work without inhibition.
www.galerietroispoints.qc.ca

Galerie Laroche/Joncas:
HOLI – Louise Masson
November 17th – December 24th
Holi is the name of an Idian color festival where participants throw different colored water and powder. Louise Masson’s portraits are based on photographs of people she took while traveling in India.
www.projex-mtl.com

Galerie d’Art Visual Voice:
Homage to Jean-Paul Riopelle – Arnold Shives
December 2nd – 22nd, 2010
On one of his visits to Montreal, west coast artist Arnold Shives was asked to create an original black and white drypoint etching to accompany a poem written by John K. Grande and dedicated to artist Jean-Paul Riopelle. The project inspired Shives to expand this etching into a collection of artworks in homage to the late Quebec artist. Adopting various colors and textures to further mediate as well as explore the spirit of Riopelleâ€s work, Shives placed broken picture glass shards on his images and spray painted them in a process that evokes Jean-Paul Riopelleâ€s later works. Homage to Jean-Paul Riopelle employs a vigorous abstract language that Riopelleâ€s 1950s and early 1960â€s painting embodies, as well as draws on the Snow Goose image that Riopelle so loved.
www.visualvoicegallery.com

Galerie Les Territoires:
Call for video submissions – Monobandes
Deadline – February 4th, 2010
Monobandes will be presented from Wednesday, May 18th to Tuesday, June 7th, 2011.
The Jury’s selection criteria are originality, quality and the coherence of the artistic vision. There is no specific theme. The only limitation is to keep the length of each video to 10 minutes or less. Up to four videos per artist may be submitted.
For more info: www.lesterritoires.org

Galerie Push:
Out Thinking in Circles, In Circles Thinking Out – Group Exhibition
December 2nd, 2010 – January 15th, 2011
Galerie PUSH is delighted to host Kyle Beal as guest curator of our latest exhibition: Out Thinking in Circles, in Circles Thinking Out featuring multi-disciplinary works by Amélie Guérin, Robert Hengeveld, Kris Lindskoog, Shawna McLeod, David Prince and Lucy Pullen. The work assembled in Out Thinking in Circles, in Circles Thinking Out deals uniquely and specifically with the circle or circular as the dominant formal or conceptual element. Turning around traditional connotations such as time, unity or the universe, to loopy spiritual rings and meanings found at the periphery, the works in the exhibition orbit a space from the horizon to the belly button. A text by Kyle Beal accompanies the exhibition.
www.galeriepush.com

 

Galerie Joyce Yahouda is hosting simultaneous exhibitions: Along the Way and Jazzissimo Joiseau.

Corine Lemieux’s photographic series Along the Way makes do solely with what already exists, with situations as they occur in daily encounters or activities. She produces series, that are always linked to questions of the complexity of human relationships, the ungraspable nature of phenomena, trasition and death, the space we cohabit, and finally a series of found words that in a certain way name all these realities. The exhibition is an open ended series that began in 2001 and constitutes the Along the Way ensemble.

and

Through his maquettes, Zipertatou’s Jazzissimo Joiseau attempts to reproduce the state of mind we immerse ourselves in when we play; a state of mind that brings us back to childhood. Play enables us to surrender the seriousness that characterized adulthood; the seriousness that implies a rational and reflective state of mind when facing the world.

(taken from galerie Joyce Yahouda press release)

Exhibition: October 14th – December 11th, 2010

Galerie Joyce Yahouda 
space 516
Corine Lemieux + Zipertatou
Along the Way + Jazzissimo Joiseau
October 14th to December 11th, 2010

www.joyceyahoudagallery.com