Art Souterrain is a nonprofit arts organization aiming to make contemporary art more accessible in Montreal.
I participated in the 2022 edition of their program CREER DES PONTS, which gives emerging artists access to vacant storefronts to use as creation and exhibition spaces.
Design
Research
Writing
Facilitation
Hosted in a vacant storefront, the Festival of Fools offered an excuse to embark on a journey of self-discovery. It produced a variety of thematically-linked events, printed matter, and performances over the course of 3 months.
January-May
At the beginning of 2022, I had just begun work on the Value Collective [Pilot]. While Value Collective aimed to address the structural barriers faced by those desiring to undertake non-market work, I began to wonder if the constraints weren’t just external, but internal. What other invisible barriers do people struggle with, and how might those also be addressed?
This resulted in the following guiding question:
Research I started by gathering numerous loosely-related references and notes. I then zeroed in on the concept of boundaries and the question of how they are created or negated. This led me to isolate a few ‘conceptual territories’ that became the main influences for the project's methods and aesthetic: performance, carnival, and the cultural archetype of the clown/trickster/fool.
Seeking to engage others in my process, I created a simplified 4-pager of notes and a research map that could be easily printed, given away, or laid out on a table to prompt discussion. These were soon joined by a fictional flyer advertising the “Festival of Fools” – the first appearance of the project’s ultimate design – and a bag of scrolls containing concepts from the research, which I invited people to draw from and reflect on.
September - November
In the spring, friend and mentor Sarah Brown passed along a call-out for CREER DES PONTS, the artist residency through which I gained access to funding and a studio. Beginning in September, I furnished the space with $350 and invited people to drop in during open hours twice a week.
Communications Enticing visuals and effective digital communication were essential for engaging participants. I wanted joining to have a secretive, side-quest vibe.
I based the identity on the illustration of the Fool in the Ryder-Waite tarot deck, accompanied by a dark, underground aesthetic. To promote the project, I set up a webpage, newsletter, and Instagram, in addition to publicizing events via Value Collective's Facebook page.
September 21
I kicked things off on the fall equinox with an informal night of readings and performances. Following one experiment, an attendee commented, “I hate this.” I was delighted. Doing something that doesn't land signifies that you are taking risks and making a fool of yourself: the purpose of the festival.
I also set aside a small budget for commissioning artists, the first of which being automatic writing by multidisciplinary artist Skylar Aung-Thwin.
Right before reading, she asked me to join in adding an echo, making for a hypnotic and surprisingly engaging performance.
October 6 - 13
In October, I was invited to contribute to Espaces Croisés, a group show organized by Art Souterrain to showcase the works of CREER DES PONTS' participating artists.
To represent the festival, I created an installation using objects of symbolic significance, relevant books, and art produced thus far. I also created a promotional pamphlet and a run of 12 dream journals for sale at the event. The journals were an invitation to partake in dream analysis, a psychoanalytic technique I was using for my own journey of self-discovery.
The pamphlet served to promote the event and clarify my intentions with a short essay functioning as an extended artist statement.
October 28
The second official event was a Halloween party and pop-up art exhibit themed around the concept of the shadow. In psychoanalysis, shadow work refers to the process of working with your unconscious mind to uncover hidden or repressed parts of yourself.
I collaborated with Alexandre Leroux of the multidisciplinary art and music collective Backwood Studio to conceptualize and realize the event. Backwood led on music, bar, immersive installations, ticketing and promotion.
Photos: Alexandre Lesage.
I curated and developed a zine with artist statements and information about shadow work (drawing on the visual identity created by Kaïa Etezadi).
I also commissioned artists Marianne Rouche and Eva Giard to join me in creating an original performance for the event. Meeting the Shadow drew on movement and poetry to depict the journey of the ego and shadow from denial into conflict and finally integration. Read the poem here.
The title references the book of the same name. This anthology of essays was my primary source of knowledge on the topic, and an invaluable tool for my own shadow work.
Photos: Ben Von Wong.
Reflection While I would recommend shadow work to anyone interested in getting to know their deepest depths, it is generally advised to work with a professional therapist. Sadly, not everyone can afford therapy.
To those engaging in shadow work, my non-expert advice is as follows: Be as open as possible about what’s coming up for you. Lean into the discomfort and resist the temptation to pull the wool back over your eyes. Most importantly, be kind to yourself. Our shadows are steeped in guilt, shame and sorrow. Those parts need to be met with gentleness if we want them to come forward and stay there.
November 11
The third major event was an art fair and party organized by Concordia's Design Art Student Alliance (DASA) around the theme of “play”.
Widely understood as an activity done for enjoyment, play is described by anthropologist David Graeber as “a pure expression of creative energy ... play can be said to be present when the free expression of energies becomes an end in itself.”
DASA led on bar, ticketing, music, decorating, and the art fair, which brought a dozen emerging artists into the space.
I produced educational materials about play (drawing on visuals created by DASA) and worked with longtime collaborator Thomas Heinrich to craft a playful intervention for the event.
After some light research and ideation with friends, Thomas and I collected props and improvized a performance. (With a little help from Dionysus.)
The final work is at once ridiculous, chaotic, and educational. After spraypainting a clown face onto the wall, I attack Thomas with a sword while he defends with a bouquet of flowers. Following the duel, we unveil a trunk full of flyers, candy and toys for the partygoers to play with.
Unfortunately, this set a dangerous precedent.
DASA and I spent the next three days repainting Art Souterrain's free-standing walls.
November 18
The last event was a collaboration with DANGERTAPE (aka Skylar Aung-Thwin, who also helped me with the Opening Night).
Promotional materials billed the show as "a purposeful loss of convention, where form disregards function and success is without measure. Expect the unexpected, unpermitted, uncontrolled."
To close off the Festival, I promised to present one final creation: a time machine.
DANGERTAPE set up interactive sound and video installations, a visual art exhibit, live music, food, and bar.
I created an installation, sold bundles of printed matter, and gave my last performance.
Having previously served as props, most of the items in the installation were familiar, but the bananas stood out for their apparent randomness.
The bananas foreshadowed the appearance of the banana pie that would feature in the final performance.
Presenting it as my time machine, I gave a speech before commissioning an audience member to smash the pie into my face.
Click here to find out whether my time travel attempt was successful!
