BGL

13 January 2005 - 19 February 2005
Opening Reception 13 January 2005 8pm

Front Gallery

Besoin de Croire/Need to Believe

“Junior lives in the city. He is 11 years old and goes to the neighbourhood school. Gilles, his father, is a computer programmer/analyst and his mother Gisèle is a telephone operator for a big company. Just like every Sunday afternoon, they go out as a family to an action movie to relax and share a communal extra-large popcorn.

Last Sunday, on the way home, they decided to visit a contemporary art exhibit. A few moments later, they leave stunned, not sure of having understood anything but carrying with them that strange blend of feelings that include discomfort, doubt and ambiguity. They return to their car in silence. Gilles suddenly has an idea: “Why not make a little detour through the new Mega Shopping Centre!”. After ten minutes of fastidious searching for a parking spot, they finally cross the electric doors. Gobsmacked, they discover the monthly special : Buy a home theatre system and receive the Muscle-Plus exercise machine free of charge! Proud of their purchase, they can now brag that they will be able to stay in shape while indulging in their passion in the comfort of their own home…”

– Excerpt from brochure text by Alain Star

Quebec-based BGL (Jasmin Bilodeau, Sebastien Giguère and Nicolas Laverdière) create projects influenced and determined by their work environment and ambient culture. With a shared interest for trades and know-how, their material of predilection is wood. On the ludic mode, they question daily practices of consumption and the objects that maintain them. “Our work joins social concerns and attempts to train our gaze onto the societies in which we participate. For us, the sculpture and installation are a stand we’re taking in favour of the tangible in an increasingly artificial and virtual world, a way to share our doubts and our hopes.” Graduates in visual arts from Université Laval, they have taken residencies and exhibited across Canada and internationally since 1996.

BGL wish to acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.