Nathalie Quagliotto, Vous êtes ici / You are here, 2013. Photo by Nathalie Quagliotto.
The Labyrinth themed fifth edition of Art Souterrain indeed furnished a dazzle of art sceneries to mark seven kilometres underground pathways with over 120 artworks. Taking the topic to heart, many works denoted either a puzzling of the visual senses or forms of bewilderment within the self, between societies or geo-political conditions. Mélodie Prégent’s installation “Warren†(2013) combined adjacent mirrors and perspective photographs of empty corridors, stairways and tunnels to create illusions of endless passages. Loren Williams whimsically faked several tunnel entrances, not only to confuse or amuse the audience but also to suggest gateways to fantastic and imaginary worlds. As if longing for sabbatical times, “Four Landscapes†(2012), Romain Lamy’s series of hyper-real photographs, guided our gaze through convoluted paths of wander. In her series “The Identity Theatresâ€, Sylvie Larouche shot pictures of various people alongside their most familiar objects and dwellings to provoke an unsettling impression of voyeurism. In “Hannava†(2006), Kaia Hugin attempts to retrace the Sami origins of her own lost heritage by imitating the way her great-grandmother used to live in the deep forest. Vincent Toi’s short silent documentary “Paper Wings†(2011) unveils the relation between a Japanese grandfather and his westernized grandson to illustrate their widening, lost-in-generations culture gap.
Mélodie Prégent, Dédale / Warren, 2013. Photo by M-KOS
On opening night, the five-women artist collective Les Ville-Laines randomly wound and wrapped round tables and chairs with colourful yarns for a participatory on site performance “No Mess”. Calling their action ‘terrorisme doux/sweet terrorism’, they even wore colourful facemasks as in homage to Pussy Riot. The resulting furniture assemblage remained on view throughout Art Souterrain’s exhibition, stranded in chaotic webs of knitting wool. Tara K. Wells’ interactive installation “Tantramar Revisited”(2012) combined old-fashion phone designs with latest-tech touch technologies. The devices metaphorically became transmitters of sounds and images from the past, inviting audiences to revive real and fictitious memories. Oli Sorenson’s “Antimap 29†(2013) video-projected slowly moving lines onto three-dimensional shapes to create optical distortions of mesmerizing effect. Glaring in a dim yellow light high above the busy train station, Nathalie Quagliotto’s neon sign “Vous êtes ici / You are here” (2013) gave a sense of reassurance to our otherwise uncertain state of being in this subterranean concrete jungle.
Les Ville-Laines, Sans dessus des sous /No mess, 2013. Photo by M-KOS
In addition to the event’s regular program, Barcelona-invited curator Alexandra Laudo selected a strong body of works by Catalan and international artists. In Pedro Torres’ video “Forked”, the camera moves through a mustard-coloured empty corridor, populated by a distant voice reading excerpts from Jorge Luis Borge’s “The Garden of Forking Path”; his camera paced hastily to find an exit but endlessly returned in the middle of nowhere. Pieter Geenen’s film “Relocation” gradually opened from the darkness as the sun rose over Mt. Ararat between Armenia and Turkey, narrated with real testimonials by residents of both mentioned countries. Ironically the sombre mood of the film installation, “relocated†in the Desjardins complex, was spoiled by 80s pop music spewing from a neighbouring shop. Most of the projection booths in this area were fiercely difficult to isolate from the hustle and bustle of busy shopping malls and throughways.
Pedro Torres, Forked, 2013. Photo by M-KOS
Despite the uneven quality of works presented, one of the downsides of this exhibition festival was definitely about having to deal with the environmental commotion. Luckier artists showed in slightly more remote site, farther from the action, while others awkwardly stood alone amidst a swamped lunchtime food court or busy marketplace. Producing art exhibitions in such public spaces is certainly not an easy task, and Art Souterrain’s outreach challenge towards a wide public approval is nothing short of colossal. Nevertheless, the hit and miss coordination between art and location was eventually balanced out by the fun factor of treasure hunting for art in the massive labyrinth that is Montreal’s underground city.
Loren Williams, Entrée de tunnel / Tunnel entrance, 2013. Photo by M-KOS
Art Souterrain
2 – 17 March 2013
artsouterrain.com [French / English]