Sandarbh / Référence

SAVAC is pleased to co-present Sandarbh / Référence, an exhibition and residency with Sashikanth Thavudoz (India) & Julie Alary Lavallée (curator / Rouyn-Noranda/Montréal) at Glencore Foundry Horne and L’Ecart. Sandarbh / Référence is both an exhibition and a residency which will take the form of an ephemeral artwork etched into the mining landscape of Rouyn-Noranda. This dual program will form a bridge between the Cadillac Fault mineral system of this region with that of similar areas around world, resulting in a rich dialogue.

Artist Sashikanth Thavudoz (India) and curator Julie Alary Lavallée (Rouyn-Noranda) explore the modes of collaboration and artistic production in a globalized world by shifting historical roles. An artist from an emerging country with millennia-old cultures, settles in Abitibi-Témiscamingue to interpret a foreign territory.

Sandarbh / Reference begins with an exhibition of the artist’s in-situ practice. Sashikanth Thavudoz has already produced two artworks on mining landscapes (Rajasthan, India and  Schefferville, Québec). His work, informed by interactions with local residents and workers, reflects the uniqueness of each site. The people he encounters are front-line informants, feeding his knowledge of local history and current events. The exhibition is staged as a laboratory, showing various prototypes as well as representations of his earlier in situ artworks that have never been accessible to the public. Mobile, the exhibition space will also serve as the residency area, a hub of creation for the artist and of writing for the curator.

The artwork will be created on the site of the Glencore Foundry Horne, but the specific location, as well as the configuration, are unknown. On-line conversations between the artist, curator and locals have been taking place for a few weeks in order to initiate research and reflection. The details of the project will be confirmed soon, and the process of creation will take place on location. The resulting ephemeral artwork will be accessible to everyone.

Sashikanth Thavudoz graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the M.S. University of Baroda (India) and is on his second stay in Québec. He participated in the India/Québec art residency at the Darling Foundry (Montréal, 2016). He lives and works in Baroda.

Born in Rouyn-Noranda, Julie Alary Lavallée is pursuing doctoral studies in Art History at Concordia University on contemporary Indian art. She is the general coordinator of the artist-run centre Studio XX (Montréal).

Exhibition Opening: Friday 27 April 2018

Public presentation: Tuesday 8 May 2018 at 6 PM (on the site of the artwork and L’Écart)

The artwork will be visible until 3 June 2018