Hubert Caron-Guay
Arroyos
From October 19 to December 16, 2017
Opening on October 19 at 7 pm
Three works placed alongside one another raise issues around migration, territory and borders, and pose a number of questions with respect to the validity of the integration policies of several countries. In the face of the difficulties experienced by countless individuals in reaching a welcoming place and of migration conditions of continuing precariousness, and in light of the increasing number of transit areas and the series of antechambers to be crossed, one is entitled to ask if our societies are delivering a “promised land” and at what cost to those who come in search of it. In a context such as Dazibao, it is impossible to ignore how images inform these phenomena both through their forging of bias towards newcomers and their perpetuation of an ever-increasing gap between the reality of migration and the expectations of displaced individuals. Paradoxically, images and their now greatly unfettered circulation have become a primary tool for a majority of migrants.
The exhibition consists of works whose rhythms and modes of dissemination differ from the media images generally in circulation as a means to acknowledge the stories that often remain muted or are pushed out of the public sphere. Following a number of projects presented by Dazibao that address current social issues, the work of Hubert Caron-Guay, Hillside Projects (Emily Mennerdahl & Jonas Böttern) and Lisl Ponger invites us to analyse the narrative systems and images that inform our understanding of the world.
Hubert Caron-Guay
Hubert Caron-Guay lives in Montreal, where he works as an artist, filmmaker, scriptwriter and producer. After studying film at UQAM, he was an active participant in the collective Épopée from 2010 to 2015, during which time he developed several documentary and fiction-based projects that have been exhibited widely in Canada and abroad. Through a “Recherche et création expérimentale” residency with PRIM in 2016, Caron-Guay developed the feature-length documentary Destierros (presented by the RIDM) and the installation Arroyos.
The work of Hubert Caron-Guay, which grows out of the proximity, one might even say the intimacy, he develops with his protagonists, explores first and foremost the human condition, even as the policies governing this condition are interrogated. The work presented here, Arroyos ― which translates to “flows” ― offers a disquieting portrait of the corridor taken by many migrants at the border of Mexico and the United States and the people who find themselves confined there. The work’s large-screen projection shows landscapes that convey the loss of bearings, the scale of the crossing and the inherent insecurity of the migrants’ journey. Adjacent to the projection is a series of intimate portraits for view on mobile telephones. The vastness of the crossing is confronted with the details of individual dramas in which barriers and borders carry out a form of repression that goes beyond the confinement of their physical demarcations.
― F.C.
This exhibition is presented by Dazibao on the occasion of the RIDM.
Other exhibitions
+
Must-see at RIDM
Hubert Caron-Guay ― Destierros
An immersive journey with South American migrants who walk, ride freight trains and trek through the forest, travelling from shelter to shelter, all with the goal of reaching the U.S. border. Destierros is an unforgettable human odyssey that captures a reality that’s particularly difficult to document without resorting to sensationalism. Using his camera as an active observer, Hubert Caron-Guay (co-director of L’état du monde, RIDM 2012) alternates between purely sensory sequences and revealing testimonials. The approach allows the film to create sufficient distance to capture the violent intensity of interminable, uncertain exile while immortalizing the heartbreaking stories of men and women haunted by the past and aware that this trip is their last chance for a better life.
+
Conversation
Hubert Caron-Guay in conversation with Véronique Lamontagne
On November 25, 2017 at 3 pm
Contest
Enter for the chance to win a pair of tickets for Destierros, Hubert Caron-Guay’s first feature-length film, in theatres from January 19, 2018.
To participate:
1- Visit Dazibao to see Caron-Guay’s installation Arroyos by December 16** and pick up your entry slip (limit of one per participant).
2- Double your chances of winning by posting a photo of the exhibition on Instagram and tag @dazibaomtl @lesfilmsdu3mars AND use the hashtag #concoursdestierros.
The winning ticket will be drawn on December 19. The tickets are for the screening of January 19, 2018 at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
* This contest is offered by Les Films du 3 mars.
** The exhibition runs until December 16 at 5pm. Dazibao is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon until 5pm and until 7pm on Thursdays.
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.