Bain St. Matthieu looked more like a band of hippies from the early ’70s had pulled into its lot with a convoy of dilapidated looking trailers and cars. The art exhibit Convoi, part of Escales Improbables Montreal, featured homespun art. In soul green and chrome, the trailers opened their doors to exhibits within consisting of poems, words, photos, and clutter. There’s a streak in Canadian art to recreate the disarray of everyday items (check any BGL project for example) and this was a micro-example of it. Outside the trailers, three people all brought their tiny black dogs while families cooked vegetarian stews. A small girl sang into a microphone and her voice resonated through amps. Two boys reconstructed poems from plates that had been broken and tossed collectively into a box.
Convoi is crated by LODHO, a traveling museum/performance group. I wasn’t entirely convinced this was artifice, so much as a bunch of people who really like sharing their passion for art and taking it on the road in their vehicles. Maybe they’re into memory and remembering, or perhaps just collecting like items.
Though CONVOI takes up the space 24-7, Lodho has special performances each day at 5 p.m. Come visit between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. every day from September 6 to 12 at Jardin du Bain Mathieu (2915 Ontario E). Free
