Manuel Mathieu: Survivance
Manuel Mathieu is a prolific multidisciplinary artist whose painting takes us into worlds of contrasts, violence and tension. His first solo exhibition in a Canadian museum will bring together works that have never previously been shown.
Born in Haiti, Mathieu studied at UQAM and at Goldsmiths, University of London. Since the start of his career in Montreal 鈥 and in between residencies and exhibitions abroad 鈥 he has been exploring the ripple effects of the successive violent dictatorships of the father-and-son Duvaliers on the Haitian people. The exhibition title Survivance was inspired by Georges Didi-Huberman鈥檚 book Survivance des lucioles (2009, in which the author states: 鈥溾 on the outskirts, that is, across infinitely vast lands march countless peoples about whom we know precious little and, consequently, for whom disinformation appears increasingly imperative. When these Firefly-Peoples retreat into the night, they search as they can their freedom of movement, evade the 鈥渞ulers鈥欌 searchlights, do the impossible to assert their desires, emit their own glow and project it on others.鈥
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Manuel Mathieu is a prolific multidisciplinary artist whose painting takes us into worlds of contrasts, violence and tension. His first solo exhibition in a Canadian museum will bring together works that have never previously been shown.
Born in Haiti, Mathieu studied at UQAM and at Goldsmiths, University of London. Since the start of his career in Montreal 鈥 and in between residencies and exhibitions abroad 鈥 he has been exploring the ripple effects of the successive violent dictatorships of the father-and-son Duvaliers on the Haitian people. The exhibition title Survivance was inspired by Georges Didi-Huberman鈥檚 book Survivance des lucioles (2009, in which the author states: 鈥溾 on the outskirts, that is, across infinitely vast lands march countless peoples about whom we know precious little and, consequently, for whom disinformation appears increasingly imperative. When these Firefly-Peoples retreat into the night, they search as they can their freedom of movement, evade the 鈥渞ulers鈥欌 searchlights, do the impossible to assert their desires, emit their own glow and project it on others.鈥
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