This edition of MOMENTA comprises 3 segments. The first which corresponds to the central exhibition at our headquarters (HQ), focuses on the work of 23 artists and is being presented at two sites : Galerie de l'UQAM and VOX, centre de l'image contemporaine. The second component consist of 14 exhibition surrounding the HQ. And the third is a document exhibition presented by Artexte.

Photo: Zanele Muholi, Miss D’vine I, from the Miss D’vine series, 2007. © Zanele Muholi

WHAT DOES THE IMAGE STAND FOR?

THE CURATOR’S STATEMENT

With the rapid development of new technologies, images – both still and moving – have become omnipresent in daily life. Lens-based images have invaded the web and social networks, those new forms of media that have made photography ubiquitous and granted it a prominent position in innumerable practices. The photographic image, initially intended to reproduce every last detail of reality, is manipulated at will. To that extent does the image, this documentation of daily life, convey reality? Is a photograph an objective framing of the world at a particular moment? Is it a symbol or a symptom of contemporary culture?

For the 2017 edition of MOMENTA, I intend to explore the concept of photographic evidence in all its guises. Although the camera sees better than the eye, it is the artist who, in the final analysis, imposes on the image of the world his or her own point of view, intuition, and even disenchantment. I want to examine the idea of the image as witness to the real, and draw attention to the fantastical and sublimated character of reality. My intention is therefore to encourage artists to expand the question of the veracity of the image and to invite viewers to take a critical stance toward the testimonial value of lens-based images; in a word, to ask ourselves What Does the Image Stand For?

AMI BARAK | GUEST CURATOR

CENTRAL EXHIBITION

23 ARTISTS + 2 VENUES

The main exhibition is centred on the tension between “the said” and “the unsaid” operating in the contemporary treatment of still and animated images. This group exhibition brings together the works of 23 artists who question in their own ways the porous frontier between reality and the fantasy of a reality, by exploring complex and diverse subjects such as identity, territory, history, and time.

Galerie de l'UQAM

Adel Abdessemed (France)

Luis Arturo Aguirre (Mexico)

Seung Woo Back (Korea)

Yto Barrada (Morocco)

Dora Budor (Croatia)

Sara Cwynar (Canada)

LaToya Ruby Frazier (United States) *also at VOX

Nelson Henricks (Canada)

Camille Henrot (France)

Risa Horowitz (Canada)

Boris Mitic (Serbia)

Nadia Myre (Canada)

VOX

Mircea Cantor (Romania)

Samuel Fosso (Cameroon)

Pascal Grandmaison (Canada)

Terrance Houle (Canada) *also at Galerie de l'UQAM

Frédéric Lavoie (Canada)

Hanna Liden (Sweden)

Liu Yue (China)

Moshe Ninio (Israel)

J.D. ’Okhai Ojeikere (Nigeria)

Joshua Petherick (Australia) *also at Galerie de l'UQAM

Kim Waldron (Canada)

SOLOS EXHIBITIONS

14 ARTISTS + 10 VENUES

CENTRE CLARK

Zanele Muholi (South Africa)

DAZIBAO

Akram Zaatari (Lebanon)

DARLING FOUNDRY

Erin Shirreff (Canada)

GALERIE B-312

Artie Vierkant (United States)

Jin-me Yoon (Canada)

MAISON DE LA CULTURE FRONTENAC

Matan Mittwoch (Israel)

Jonas St. Michael (Canada)

MUSÉE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN DE MONTRÉAL

Taryn Simon (United States)

MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

Meryl McMaster (Canada)

McCORD MUSEUM

Jayce Salloum (Canada)

OCCURRENCE

David Hartt (Canada)

Anne-Marie Proulx (Canada)

OPTICA

Valérie Mréjen (France)

Melik Ohanian (France)

DOCUMENT EXHIBITION

ARTEXTE

David Hartt (Canada)

Nelson Henricks (Canada)

Micah Lexier (Canada)

Valérie Mréjen (France)

Erin Shirreff (United States)

Download the MOMENTA 2017 program

Satellite
programming

Chloë Lum & Yannick Desranleau
I really I want Time for A lie – I want, 2016. Courtesy of Galerie Hugues Charbonneau.
© Chloë Lum & Yannick Desranleau

PUBLIC ART TOUR

Presented by Art public Montréal, a photographic tour unfolds through the city. It is composed of more than 30 photographs by Québec-based artists, integrated into Montréal's public space. The photographs and their locations are listed on the Art public Montréal website.

SATELLITES EXHIBITIONS

To extend the reflection on the image's multiple meanings, 7 private galleries present the works of artists in relation to the biennale's theme.

PROGRAMMING