The news and various artistic languages that recount it make up the subject matter of Roy Meuwissen’s LAT. 17°33′13″N LONG. 99°24′37″W. Basing his work on two student protests that turned tragic in Mexico, in 1968 and 2014, the artist superimposes historical events and anecdotes to present a cold and incisive report on silencing politics directed at young people, directly reminiscent of Québec’s Maple Spring. The first art history anecdote directly linked to these tragedies refers to artist On Kawara’s 1968 residency in Mexico, and his legendary tear-off calendar-style “Date paintings” series. The context of his current exhibition authorizes Meuwissen to appropriate the artistic standards of the “Date paintings”: the rectangular black format and sense of cold conceptual detachment. Each of his paintings therefore consists of newsprint clippings from the date of their production, which constitute artistic immunity and an intrinsic link to the news, in addition to representing archival documents in their own right.
MONTREAL: Darling Foundry: Roy Meuwissen
