What began as a search into where we live, became a collision between celebration and critique. Stemming from the implementation of the National Anthem, where nature is characterized by political territory, this program questions the ritualistic embodiment of transmission, adding and suggesting other references to a place.
Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal, Québec, Canada as a singular and multiple entity is unruly and confusing. Language and space partition identities and references, distinguishing one person from another. The representation of this place (in the sense of the term as used by author Lesley Johnstone in the text “Art Made in a Place”) is an open task that has forged personal and collective memories, allowing ever-changing versions and definitions to exist and accompany us.
What makes this place different? Nothing and everything. [1] Politics, language, nature, and territory manifest themselves in our everyday lives. The politics of the anthem make palpable the politics of Québec and the rest of the country in relation to its position and language. Singing “O Canada” is a required component of schools' daily opening ceremonies in certain provinces. Power and identification emanate from the musical arrangement, whether it is heard, sung, or broadcasted on TV at the beginning and end of the day. The televised renditions change from one province to another and the imagery includes everyone who makes up the population, as well as the country’s many urban and rural landscapes.
In his text French is the Most Beautiful Language, Jacob Wren properly exposes the everyday reality and problematic of how French and English coexist in the city of Montréal from his perspective as an artist, immigrant, and existentialist. The presence of nature, divided between territory and class (making us who we are) is represented by the slow wintery experimental images captured by Michael Snow in 1969, and the strength of marking through a performance by Meagan Musseau and Jenelle Duval. Finally, Kìzis will perform her version of an anthem for where we live and where she comes from.
This program sequences archival documentary images, videos and live contributions as references to a place that is simultaneously national and sovereign, provincial and federal, local and global, artistic and political.
Curated by Victoria Carrasco, Adjunct Curator – Public Programs, PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art
This event is organized in conjunction with the exhibition Revealing Narratives by Stan Douglas, presented at the PHI Foundation from February 19 to May 22, 2022.
INFORMATION
• Places are limited and reservations are required.
• Health measures will be followed: wearing of a mask or face cover mandatory, disinfecting hands and maintaining physical distancing of at least 1m from each other.
• Presentations and performances will be bilingual, in French and English.
• Videos will be presented in their original language.
1. Lesley Johnstone, “Art Made in a Place” in Oh Canada (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012), 236-237.