Under neon loneliness

Melissa Price - The Mc Gill Tribune, Montréal 2005


Marie Maquaire's latest video art exhibition, In_Stances, took place in the perfect setting-a spacious oasis of a studio at 2180 rue Fullum, in a quiet and dark residential neighbourhood in the eastern part of the city. The studio, owned by Productions Réalisations Indépendantes de Montréal, takes some time to find, but the dim streets and the emptiness of the studio provide an ideal backdrop to Maquaire's exploration of urban living.

In_Stances consists of three separate but related parts, referred to as "stances."

The first, called la chute (Immobilis), strikes the observer immediately upon entering. What at first appears to be some sort of cascade is revealed, on closer inspection, to be composed of identical, repeating and staggered film loops of a camera panning across the side of a building. The juxtaposition of the inherent solidity of the structure with the fluid motion produced by the scanning is sharp; the effect must have required careful camera work and splicing. The projection of the film onto a hanging cloth screen only adds another dimension to the contrast in textures.

Stance two, called lieux publics, is sheltered in a separate, darker room. Couches face small television screens, which play seemingly endless footage of busy public spaces-train stations, parks and the like. The quality of the film is reminiscent of a very clear security camera: detached, impersonal and unbiased. This stance comes complete with a pair of headphones used to listen to the unintelligible, muddy hubbub of the crowd. Lieux publics gets tiresome very quickly, since it's really just a manifestation of the solitary people-watching we're all forced to do during long waits. Maquaire's point, however, is not lost-the people in the film come and go, stop to chat, drink coffee, and so on, and the viewer is completely disinterested. The solidification of the observer's experience onto a television screen drives home the isolation that paradoxically exists in heavily used areas; the difference is that on screen, we can't reach out and interact even if we want to.

The third and most entrancing piece, le promeneur, is projected onto a screen on the wall, forcing one to stand in the centre of the room to watch it. This is amusing not only because you get to be in everyone's way, but also because you are forced to replicate the exact stance of the figure in the middle of the screen. This featured individual periodically changes, but each time he or she stands motionless in the centre of the foreground, looking for all the world like another viewer blocking your line of sight. In essence, that is what they are because the mysterious figures never interact with the rest of the scene-backdrops that include busy streets, grassy knolls and tall buildings, all full of quickly moving people. Their roles are exactly the same as the viewer's, with the exception that they are actually part of the film. The theme presented in lieux publics is extended by presenting the solipsism of observation as a real presence in the work. The fact that the people's faces are never shown begins to become unnerving, and the work leaves the viewer feeling left out and superfluous.

Maquaire is a master of the placement of seemingly bland images into coherent context to make resounding statements. Her work demands contemplation and rewards with a slow realization of deep, language-transcending truths. It's more than that, even; her art lingers in one's mind, firmly entangled with the feeling of detachment that accompanies it. That, in my opinion, is the definition of great art.