The Slow Gaze combines photography, video and photo-based installation in an exhibition co-produced by Centre VU and Gallery 44. We chose a thematic concept which seemed to express a significant trend in recent Canadian photography. For us, the works included here employ a specific kind of gaze, one characterised by an enquiry into time, how it is expressed and manifested.
The work explores what we might call a slowing-down of the gaze (or, on the contrary, its speeding-up). These minimal pieces, based on the significance of writing and signs, reveal a clear interest in detail or ambiguous form. While some of the artists construct permutations that privilege repetition to the point of obsession, others take up the theme of collecting through repertoires of impossible moments or unusual motifs. Most of their works evoke a kind of de-materialisation of vision, which suggests the instability of the moving image. Resolutely concrete and astonishingly immaterial, these works are pervaded by a strong sense of infinitude and give rise to contemplative readings, in contrast to the customary speed of the culture of entertainment.
André Barrette was born in Espanola, Ontario in 1958. He lives and works in Quebec City, where he has been active in contemporary photography circles for more than twenty years. His work has been exhibited in Quebec, France and recently at Bunkier Sztuki in Krakow, Poland. The exhibition Les rituels: parcours de chasse, a lyrical evocation of the world of hunters, was shown at VOX in Montreal and Espace F in Matane, Quebec. Since 2000, he has been creating sparse photographs with subtle colouring that maintain an ambiguous relationship with their subject. ALL U CAN EAT will be exhibited in Havana in March 2008. André Barrette has worked as VU’s production coordinator since 1995.
Cecilia Berkovic is a Toronto-based visual artist who uses strategies of collecting and displaying to explore aspects of romance, consumer culture, leisure and identity. Not bound to a single medium, her work includes poster projects, limited edition objects, photography and installation. She has exhibited widely in Canada, at venues such as Art Metropole, YYZ Artists’ Outlet and the Art Gallery of Ontario. She is currently preparing for a solo show at Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects. She is on the Board of Directors at Gallery TPW in Toronto and also practices collaboratively with Toronto/Vancouver-based artist collective, Instant Coffee.
Ève Cadieux was born in Montreal in 1974 and lives in Quebec City. She holds a Master’s degree in art history and visual art from the Universite de Montreal. Her work has been shown in Fotonoviembre VII in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Yugoslav Biennial of Young Artists 2004 in Serbia and the exhibition La Disparition in Liege, Belgium, Warsaw, Poland and Quebec City. Her Solo exhibitions include Le Costumier at La chamber blanche in Quebec City and Traquer les trepas at Jose Martinez Gallery in Lyon, France and Yergeau Gallery, Montreal. Her work explores the relationship between found objects and the nature of the photographic medium. Writing has a special place in her work, in the form of installations and artist’s books. Cabinet d’un imposteur sincere was created in 2006 during an artistic residency at La Station in Nice, France.
Jennifer Cherniack is an emerging artist, curator and educator based in Toronto. Originally from Winnipeg, she earned her BFA in 2003 from the University of Western Ontario, and in 2004 was an intern at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. In 2004, Cherniack taught animation and film making at The National Film Board of Canada and photography at Regent Park Focus Media Arts Centre. She currently works at InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre as the Assistant Curator/Education Coordinator. With a keen interest in arts education, Cherniack recently completed an independent photo-based project exploring wilderness travel and communal living with a group of youth from Winnipeg. As an artist, Cherniack has exhibited in Venice, London (ON), Toronto, and Winnipeg.
Paul Lacroix is a major figure in Quebec contemporary art. He was born in Sainte-Marie de Beauce in 1929 and has taught at the Ecole des beaux-arts de Quebec and Universite de Laval’s visual arts department. The Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec mounted a major retrospective of his work in 1999. His most recent solo exhibition, Expositions: dessins/photographies, was shown at Expression in Saint-Hyacinthe, the Musee d’art contemporain des Laurentides and the Musee des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke. Well-known for his drawings and sculptures, for the past several years he has been exploring photography. His evolving works, particularly the unusual project Mises en abime angoissees, reveal his fascination with the ephemeral and the indeterminate in the creative process.
TEK was born in Seoul, Korea in 1978, he moved to Canada in 2000. Before moving to Toronto, he served as a surveillance photographer for the South Korean Military and later in the Military-Press. After arriving in Toronto, TEK attended George Brown College and later earned his BFA at the Ontario College of Art and Design with many awards and scholarships. TEK’s photo-based art has been shown in numerous galleries across the country and collected by several companies. In his spare time, TEK is an avid competitive cyclist and Korean gourmet chef. He currently works at Stephen Bulger Gallery.
