Opening: November 21, 2024, 5:30 - 8:00 pm - refreshments will be offered

Group exhibition co-curated by Bryan Beyung, Rémy Chhem, and Laura Nhem of Super Boat People

What connects us, and how is this bond shaped by transmission, or by disconnection? Is there a common non-verbal language through which it can be expressed? During a short summer research-creation residency, these questions guided seven experienced and emerging artists of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese descent, based here and abroad. What historical, political, domestic and spiritual affinities arose from this encounter, given that the group shared, at the very least, a common consciousness, a collective sense of feeling, and an urgent need to tell their stories?

The exhibition Parent à toi / A kin to you presents a series of artistic essays exploring these affinities and intimacies - filiation, sorority, brotherhood, the relationship to the self - sometimes fleeting and hard to capture, other times tangible, and at times fantasized. The works act as a catalyst for the recognition and (re)generation of these multiple relationships. Each work offers insight into the weight, heritage, practices and imaginaries of kinship. Drawing on different forms of familiarity and immersion, the artists have chosen to symbolize themes of play, trauma, healing, contemplation, care, community and digital culture, through a multiplicity of mediums and references: painting and illustration, photography, multimedia installation, performance.

Together, the artists’ work embodies and unveils alternative forms of kinship. The exhibition welcomes the unknown, invites introspection and reflection on the past, and ultimately offers a vision for moving forward and coming together in the aftermath.

With the participation of:
Bryan Beyung
Timothé Born
My-Van Dam
Sorya Nguon-Bélisle
Quang Hai Nguyen
Souvanna Miranda Sivilay
Tam Khoa Vu

Super boat people extends its sincere thanks to La Centrale galerie Powerhouse and the Conseil des arts de Montréal for their support in bringing this exhibition to life.

Super Boat People is a collective of mainly second-generation Cambodians, Laotians and Vietnamese. Its participants are active in the fields of community organization, research, documentary, arts and media. The group engages all generations, helping them in reclaiming their history and reconnecting with their cultures and communities. The collective carries out a variety of actions: a collective garden and production space for Asian vegetables and herbs, cooking workshops, oral history workshops and community discussions, artistic dissemination events and social campaigns.