Lili Reynaud-Dewar
I Want All of the Above to Be the Sun
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MAC, Montreal
The MAC is devoting an exhibition to acclaimed French artist Lili Reynaud-Dewar. Open to the public at the MAC, this exhibition entitled Lili Reynaud-Dewar: I Want All of the Above to Be the Sun, was specifically designed for the MAC space at PVM. Curated by Mark Lanctôt, the exhibition brings together emblematic works by the multidisciplinary artist and offers insight into her recent practice. This is her first solo exhibition in Quebec.
Recipient of the Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2021, Lili Reynaud-Dewar has developed a highly unique practice. Hailed for “the universality of her approach, her effective institutional and social critique, and above all her risk-taking with her own body,” the artist creates performances, installations and films that embrace social issues. Grounded in a fervent interest in the history of militant and alternative cultures, often inspired by figures of resistance such as Josephine Baker, Jean Genet and Guillaume Dustan, Reynaud-Dewar uses the body to evoke vulnerability and the sense of empowerment associated with taking a public stand.
Born in 1975 in La Rochelle, France, Lili Reynaud-Dewar made a name for herself with video works in which she dances nude, in full body make-up, in the museum spaces, exhibition centres and artists’ residencies that have hosted her or shown her work. This exhibition brings together for the very first time, a selection of over thirty of these videos produced since 2013. In fact, the title of the exhibition is taken from her most recent dance video series. “I Want All of the Above to Be the Sun”, is a phrase from the book New York in 1979 by American poet, novelist, essayist and feminist activist Kathy Acker.
These videos are accompanied by a series of sculptural self-portraits recently begun by the artist. Each season (or so), new 1:1 scale casts of her body are made, depicting the artist sitting on the floor, absorbed in everyday gestures such as consulting her cell phone. Counterparts to the dance videos, these human-scale sculptures are static, but also function as recurrences of the same body in different exhibition contexts.
The video installation Rome, November 1st and 2nd, 1975 completes the exhibition. In it, Lili Reynaud-Dewar examines, reconstructs, and interprets the infamous Italian poet and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini’s final hours, but also the role of art in society. The four screens that surround the viewer retrace Pasolini’s last evening and his violent death on November 2nd, 1975. Twenty-four people from Reynaud-Dewar’s entourage take turns playing the various protagonists, as does the artist, who also stages herself. Booklets scattered on the floor give insight into the actors’ careers through the transcriptions of their interviews with Reynaud-Dewar. This play of echoes, which brings together two eras, Pasolini’s and the actors’, contributes to the richness and depth of the work.
