photo x Louis-Étienne Doré
RÉSONANCES DU RÉEL
Maison de la Culture Claude-Léveillée
Montreal, Canada
September 16 - November 8, 2021
Group exhibition with Isabella Salas/Michael Mersereau, Marie-Denise Douyon, Omar Bernal, Laura Acosta/Santiago Tavera
Curated by Mariza Rosales-Argonza
THE NOVELS OF ELSGÜER
(EPISODE 1)
WHEN THE RIVER SINGS, STONES IT BRINGS
Episode 1: When the river sings, stones it brings is a video installation that presents a form which evokes both a breathing territory and an unidentified body. This installation is composed of video projection mapping onto a large scale inflatable textile sculpture, along with a set-up of multiple screen monitors and spatialized sound. Through this, the installation presents a virtual landscape made up of digital skin textures that are at once beautiful and repulsive. Hair, crevices, scars and folds of unidentified skins become the landmarks of this abstract virtual terrain. This installation explores the skin as a territory, composed of layers of lived experiences and accumulated memories which continuously shape and transform its topography. Specifically, this work reflects on how the skin of Bipoc individuals, similar to the natural landscape, bears the marks of the crossbreeding processes of colonialism, as well as histories of both oppression and resilience. This living membrane is then a terrain in itself, which transforms and adapts over time like a geographical ground.
Additionally, this work aims to bring awareness to current human right violations taking place in Colombia and Canada. Such as the military state repression of protesting Colombians who are going missing and then appearing dismembered in rivers by the masses. As well as, the ongoing repression of Indigenous people in Canada, as demonstrated by the mass graves of indigenous children discovered in residential schools throughout the country. Through an audio-visual experience, this work rejects how these grotesque brutalities have turned these missing individuals into mere bodies that were to be forgotten within the landscape.