is a participatory art series in which, over two years, a group of young Montrealers intervenes and responds to Dazibao’s exhibition programming, collaborating with each other and their mentor, artist Veronica Mockler.
À l’image — Takeover Spilling the Tea
In response to the exhibitions I’m Not Your Kinda Princess by Lori Blondeau and Fair Trade by Alexandre Erre.
Sanaa: “But it's like also… even if you're wearing the same thing as a white person, you know, they're always going to see it differently on you if you're a person of color, like… regardless of what it is.”
Mei: “And so, like, that kind of trickles down until like now where people are always kind of looking or like expecting us to still kind of conform.”
Shayah:
Also, like, I feel like regardless of how you carry yourself, people are going to, like, perceive you a certain way.
Talayah: “We code switch a lot. Because, for example, if I speak at school the way I speak at work, they’ll be like, “Oh, she's unintelligent.”
Destiny: “But what other parts of your intersectional identity do people make snap judgments on?
Yeah.
Skin color.”
Isha: “You know, from where we come from… my… you always need to ask your husband the authorization to do something with your body.”
Sasha:
“So, anyone who doesn’t have hair like mine, what do you think?”
Unless otherwise specified, all photographic and other documentation, footage and video capture, editing and sketches are by Veronica Mockler.
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The artist thanks Amanda Maxwell at Desta Black Community Network, as well as Ashley Montgomery and Vivek Venkatesh at Project Someone, Concordia University for their generous collaboration. For this third À l'image — Takeover, the artist would also like to thank Concordia University's Acts of Listening Lab.
This project is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ville de Montréal and the Gouvernement du Québec in the context of the Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal.
Dazibao thanks the artist and her collaborators for their generous collaboration as well as its advisory programming committee for its support.
Dazibao receives financial support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the ministère de la Culture et des Communications and the Ville de Montréal.
Dazibao acknowledges that it is located on the unceded territory of the Kanien'kehá: ka Nation and that Tiohtiá:ke / Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations, and today, is home to a diverse population of Indigenous as well as other peoples. Guided by ethics of respect, listening, and awareness, Dazibao commits to a continued reflection regarding the deep-rooted and systemic challenges tied to accessibility and inclusivity in the arts and beyond, and endeavors to apply such reflections to all aspects of its activities and governance.