[Summer 2022]

By Sophie Bertrand

HANGAR 7826, Montréal
6.11.2021 — 28.11.2021

[Excerpt]
Max, Brad, Tyler, John, Diego, Erik. These disembodied names, crowded together on the walls of the small gallery HANGAR 7826, wordlessly welcome us to the most recent exhibition by Emmanuel Galland, « Mes Dates / Close Friends ». At first glance, the grouping seems to form a system of typological classification. When we look more closely, we notice the presence of a reading track at the bottom of each print. These are actually screen captures dynamically and spontaneously arranged, as if they were pinned on a bulletin board or tacked on the wall like Post-its. We get the impression of a laboratory in which randomly placed research items interact: on the one hand, these are word clouds set out in oscillating waves; on the other hand, a totemic conception illuminated by skylights. The light source forces us to raise our eyes to see the separate mezzanine, and invites us up a metal spiral staircase to follow the exhibition path and find a sample of framed works.

The contrast between the two levels is notable: on the ground floor, the overlapping of prints drowns the reading of the works – all names, all printed on a black background – and suggests the compulsion of viewing; on the upper level, the glass coverings on the few images presented define our attention and draw our gaze to the coupling of names, so we detect a human presence in the background. We notice that the installation in the space accommodates the rising architecture of the gallery. There are almost three hundred images, in different formats, on display, matching the proportions and sizes of tablet, cell phone, laptop, and monitor screens…
Translated by Käthe Roth

[ Complete issue, in print and digital version, available here: Ciel variable 120 – FIGURES OF AFFIRMATION ]
[ Complete article and more images, in digital version, available here: Emmanuel Galland, « Mes Dates / Close Friends » — Sophie Bertrand ]