Found
Festival Accès Asie, in collaboration with the maison de la culture Frontenac, is pleased to present Found, a two-person exhibition featuring photography, video and installation works by artists Aanchal Malhotra (India / New Delhi) and Margret Nielsen (Germany / Montreal). The exhibition will run from April 27th to June 4th, 2016.
Description
Curated by Kakim Goh, with the assistance of Catherine LaMendola and Elodie Lavergne, Found is a research-based show that explores the artistic use of found objects and themes of discovery, recognition and restoration.
In Aanchal Malhotra’s series Remnants of a Separation, the artist plumbs the depths of Indian and Pakistani refugees’ experiences to uncover hidden memories of a turbulent and painful chapter in world history – the 1947 Partition of the Indian Subcontinent. By using extensive research and face-to-face interviews, the artist combines photography and texts to create a rich narrative dealing with family, displacement and belonging. This ongoing project debuted in 2015 at the FOFA Gallery in Montreal and has toured internationally, with stops at The Institute for Applied and Creative Thinking at Staffordshire University in England and The Partition Museum in New Delhi. This marks the first presentation of this series in French.
In Margret Nielsen’s Nepalese Photo Studio, the artist presents a selection from her collection of thousands of preserved negatives acquired from a family-run photo studio in a small town in Nepal. The images, which date from the 40s to the 90s, were taken by two Nepalese photographers, father and son, who specialized in portraiture, events, street photography and snippets from daily town life. A culmination of many years of photo preservation and research, this presentation raises questions about the depiction of Nepalese culture, the role of the photographer in society, as well as the public and private domains of memory and experience.
The public is invited to attend the opening cocktail on Saturday, May 7th, 2016, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, as well as the meeting and discussion with the artists on Sunday, May 8th, 2016, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
Medias
Anchal Malhorta
Aanchal Malhotra was born in India and lives in New Delhi. She is interested in banality, acts of recollection and the malleability of our memory. Her projects explore the written word, various forms of the book and the versatility of traditional printmaking. She reflects on issues like cultural diaspora, notions of belonging, the forgotten fragments of collective experiences, and family history and genealogy. Aanchal holds a BFA from OCAD University, Toronto and a MFA in Studio Art from Concordia University. She was awarded the 2011 OCAD University Medal in Printmaking and has exhibited in Toronto, Quebec, Portugal, Serbia and India.
Margret Nielsen
Margret Nielsen was born in Germany and lives in Montreal. Her work is influenced by classic photojournalism and currently focuses on reinterpreting and reusing found material. She is a former photo editor at laif photo agency in Germany. During her extensive travels throughout Asia, Margret taught photography to women in Afghanistan. Her photographic series on China have been featured in two exhibitions at the Goethe-Institut in Germany.
Kakim Goh
Kakim Goh was born in Singapore and lives in Montreal. He is the Vice President of the Board of Directors at Festival Accès Asie, in addition to serving as the Curator of the Visual Arts Program, responsible for organizing visual arts exhibitions, professional development programs and cultural mediation activities. He holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Concordia University. As a visual artist who creates interdisciplinary painting, performance and video installations, Kakim has been exhibiting in Mexico and Quebec since 1993, most notably at MAI, the OBORO New Media Laboratory and la Maison de la Culture of Plateau-Mont-Royal.
Catherine LaMendola
Catherine LaMendola was born in Texas and lives in Montreal. She is currently completing her
bachelor’s degree in Art History at McGill University. She is also the co-president of McGill University’s student art gallery and her research focuses on contemporary installation practices and art criticism. She has written and edited for various Montreal publications, including The Main and McGill’s journal Canvas. She has served as a curatorial intern at Festival Accès Asie since Spring 2015.
Elodie Lavergne
Elodie Lavergne was born in France and lives in Montreal. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Corporate Development from CNAM Haute-Normandie. In France, she gained marketing and event management experience working for L’Oréal Paris and volunteering at the Fontenay-Sous-Bois City Hall where she organized events, concerts and exhibitions. She is
currently specializing in arts and culture by pursuing a Certificate in Animation and Cultural Research at UQAM. She has served as an Event Coordinator at Festival Accès Asie since Fall 2015.
With
Anchal Malhorta – Artist, Remnants of a separation
Margret Nielsen – Artist, Nepalese Photo Studio Photographer
Kakim Goh – Curator
Catherine LaMendola – Assistant Curator
Elodie Lavergne – Event Coordinator
