Lisa Robertson is a poet currently based in France. Recent books include Occasional Work and Seven Walks From The Office For Soft Architecture: Essays, Toronto (Coach House Books, 2006), The Men, Toronto (Bookthug, 2006); Occasional Works and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture, Astoria (Clearcut Press, 2003); Doubt, Vancouver (Artspeak, 2002); The Weather, Vancouver (New Star Books, 2001); Soft Architecture: A Manifesto, Vancouver and Montreal (Artspeak and Dazibao). She teaches at the California College of the Arts.
Soft Architecture: A Manifesto
JOSÉE BERNARD, SHARYN YUEN, LISA ROBERTSON
March 27–May 8, 1999
Memory’s architecture is neither palatial nor theatrical but soft. — Lisa Robertson
The project Soft Architecture: A Manifesto was realized through the collaborative efforts of Artspeak Gallery and Dazibao Gallery in Montréal, bringing together the work of artists Josée Bernard and Sharyn Yuen with writer/poet Lisa Robertson. Despite cultural difference and geographical distance, all three artists have used childhood and the notion of memory to discuss the discomforts of displacement. The intention of this project was to provoke ideas and forge links between different practices that would extend the parameters of both photography and writing. Inspired by a child’s quilt found in the house in which she grew up, Josée Bernard uses images and themes from Après les étoiles filantes that explore perceptions of comfort and the passing of time. The installation is meant as a symbol of fecundity and equilibrium in which memory and labour are juxtaposed. In Once Here, Sharyn Yuen addresses issues of displacement and dislocation. The departure point for this installation was inspired by stories of young Chinese girls sold overseas in the early 1900’s. Handmade shoes and images of childhood games become visual metaphors for vulnerability and innocence.
A bilingual publication with prose by Lisa Robertson accompanies the exhibition.
Soft Architecture: A Manifesto
Title: Soft Architecture: A Manifesto
Category: Exhibition Catalogue
Artist: Josée Bernard, Sharyn Yuen
Writers: Lisa Robertson
Editor: Janou Gagnon, Jacqueline Larson, Robert Majzels
Design: Kevin C. Rowdon
Publisher: Artspeak, Dazibao Gallery Montreal
Printer: Dufferin Press
Year published: 1999
Pages: 16pp
Cover: Paper
Binding: Staple Bound
Process: Offset
Features: 4 b&w images, bilingual catalogue (English/French)
Dimensions: 21 x 15 x 0.2 cm
Weight: 51 g
ISBN: 0-921394-30-6
Price: $4 CDN
A bilingual catalogue realized through the collaborative efforts of Artspeak Gallery and Dazibao Gallery in Montréal, bringing together the work of artists Josée Bernard and Sharyn Yuen with writer/poet Lisa Robertson. Despite cultural difference and geographical distance, all three artists have used childhood and memory to discuss the discomforts of displacement.