RELATIONS -- DIASPORA AND PAINTING @ Fondation PHI 08.07.2020 -- 29.11.2020

Bee-keeper, Shanna Strauss, 2019

FRANÇAIS app de traduction à gauche

shroud (in threadbare light) 1,
Marigold Santos 2020

RELATIONS -- DIASPORA AND PAINTING @Fondation PHI is the first art exhibit I visited since the COVID-19 nightmare. So many turmoils are coming to the surface that not only challenge the status quo but destroy it! For millions of our human brothers and sisters chaos and transformation has been a way of life. Stuck in our homes for months we saw the horrific execution of Ahmaud Arbery hunted by shotgun carrying men in trucks as he was jogging on a country road. M. Arbery was murdered on February 23 2020 but the video was released and went viral on May 5th this year. With hearts not healed from the tragedy and injustice of the Ahmaud Arbery case we watch on the daily news George Floyd being executed in from of our eyes as officer Derek Chauvin is looking at us through the camera that is filming him, defying anyone to stop him from crushing M. Floyd's neck.

We had to confront the reality that some people around us are so deeply racist they refuse to acknowledge the humanity in those that are not their color. I want to classify their bias as of being about color because we are ALL the HUMAN RACE!

Ancestor 1, Rajni Perera 2019

This exhibition curated by Cheryl Sim explores the impact of displacement on artists from around the world as they adjust to new realities, new rules and often unbearable discrimination. At the same time they are also connected to the histories of their families, ancestor's whose bones are in the land they left behind to survive.

In the works of Shanna Strauss we are introduced to very close relatives with whom she has a profound loving bond. In the symbols of the painting we are made aware that bees are important spiritual guardians in many African spiritual practice. She used recycled wood she found in Montreal and applies traditional techniques she learned in Tanzania.

Marigold Santos revives the folklore of her native Philippines with her subtle paintings of unsubstantial female forms manifesting in nature. She redeems the mythological figure of Asuang who had been demonized by the colonist invaders.

Rajni Perera's paintings critique the way the cultures of the west have limited their understanding and representation of people issued from the diaspora. She wants to integrate who they were before, what they are experiencing now and how they are forging ahead with beauty and dignity.

You will discover the art works and stories of more than 50 artists.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 precautions you will have to reserve your time-space to visit the exhibit: RESERVATIONS  - on this link you will see many activities you might also enjoy.

Ms Sims informed me that a catalogue is in the works and should be available soon, so check the site for that. As usual the activities are free!

I take a journey, you take a journey, we take a journey
together (Mask 4),  Rajni Perera 2020

-LENA GHIO 

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TARGET NUMBER ONE a Victor Malarek movie

Josh Harnett plays real life investigative journalist Vic Malarek 

FRANÇAIS app de traduction à gauche

A riveting story that sent me on a deep  Google search for the real "Daniel Léger", a then young drug addict enticed by an RCMP CI to go to Thailand to make a drug buy. 

The first part of the movie introduces us to the two main characters: Daniel Léger played by Antoine Olivier Pilon and Victor Malarek  played by Josh Hartnett.

 

Léger is trying to stay sober, but falls into the trap of the RCMP CI Picker, played superbly by Jim Gaffigan, who is a drug addicted grifter who wants to make a buck. 

Malarek is a serious journalist whose work I have enjoyed through the years. The film is about his dedicated effort to find the truth about what happened to Daniel Léger and find out why no RCMP official or Thailand official allow this prisoner to have visitors. We see him at the beginning of his career played with intensity by Josh Harnett.

The true story is captivating, the soundtrack sustains the action well, but... there are a few things I can't get over as a film critic. One is the casting of the superb Canadian actor Stephen McHattie as the lead RCMP investigator Frank Cooper. The actor is a frail 74 year old and we are expected to believe men that old go in the field to fight with drug dealers in foreign lands. Doesn't work! It is distracting!

Meanwhile, the real Daniel Léger,  Alain Olivier, has written and published a book, Good Luck Frenchy,  detailing his extraordinary tragic misadventure that cost him his freedom and his youth. On this link you will see real photos of his ordeal and you will be able to see the evidence of the frame-up that he has gathered through his trials. 

You will be able to see Target Number One at the theater but there are safety protocols to follow. From this site: https://aimetoncinema.ca/fr/au-cinema-en-toute-securite you will get added information. Follow the link to your chosen cinema to get English information on their health guidelines. 

Opens in theaters this week-end and is also available on Pay per View.

Lena Ghio