CFMDC presents an online exhibition of Rebecca Garrett's work that includes "Project for a divided house", "Crazy Jane and the Torrent Men" and "A moment of pure feeling". Free. August 13-26. http://CFMDC.tv
This program is curated by Jorge Lozano and Alexandra Gelis and is supported by the Arts Council of Canada.
About the projects:
"Project for a Divided House" (1981) is an installation consisting of four super 8 film projectors with film loops projected onto walls built to duplicate existing walls, then slightly moved to create a duplication in the experience of the space . As the viewer moved through the space, he became aware of the speakers embedded in the built walls, which contained sounds recorded during the construction of the walls. This site-specific installation was in a gallery located in an old Victorian home in downtown Toronto, typical of settler colonial architecture that defines the history and character of the city's core. The piece was a response to a social history that, at that time, was obscured and erased.
"Crazy Jane and the Torrent Men" (1986) consisted of two large rear-projected screens, ten feet high and sixteen feet wide. The screens were placed parallel to each other, four feet apart, forming a hallway-like space. The viewer had to stand between the two screens and could only look at one screen at a time; there was no position from which one could step back and view the entire piece from some vantage point outside of it. The 12-minute 16mm film consisted of three pairs of shots, shot in real time and raw within each scene. The piece articulates a metaphysical or philosophical dilemma about having to choose between being inside something or being outside looking at it, between living life or observing it.
"A Moment of Pure Feeling" (1989) is an installation of 16mm film loop, Eiki arc projector, copper tubing, reservoir, pump, large glass. "A moment of pure feeling" responded to environmental and political problems embedded in an industrial building on Lansdowne and Dupont streets in Toronto. In 1989, the General Electric factory was empty due to contamination from toxic wastes like PCBs, and it stood as a haunted monument to the transition from an industrial to a digital economy. A group of artists seeking alternatives to the established gallery system organized an exhibition in the space. "A moment of pure feeling" occupied two rooms of the old factory.
About Rebecca Garrett:
Rebecca Garrett is a Toronto-based artist whose award-winning experimental videos, installations, and community video projects have been shown in numerous venues in Canada and abroad. Garrett has worked collaboratively and / or collectively with many groups and individuals in Canada, the US, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, and has taught at the University of York, the University of Toronto, and the Ontario College of Art and Design. His work expresses a long commitment to naming economic, colonial and social injustices, and building relationships of exchange and reciprocity.
About CFMDC:
Established in 1967, CFMDC is a non-profit, non-commercial multimedia arts distributor specializing in freelance work by artists in film and video, including work from historically underrepresented communities. We advocate for a holistic understanding of production, distribution, and exhibition that prioritizes artists' rights, accessibility, and creating new audiences through education and critical thinking.
Through a unique and successful national and international distribution service, CFMDC makes its collection available for preview, rental or sale for research, exhibition, screening and broadcast purposes, as well as for institutional and private acquisitions.
