Stage Backstage : Solo Exhibition, Donald Browne Gallery, Montreal

Abstract

“The spectacle is not a collection of images; it is a social relation between people that is mediated by images.” Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle (1967) Lynne Marsh explores the notion of “stage” as a physical structure and conceptual entity where the social and political mises en scène of human relations take place. This experimental platform is one of potentiality, gathering, exchange, translation and transmission. Stage Backstage presents a set of photographs taken on the production sites of two of Marsh’s recent film projects - Plänterwäld and The Philharmonie Project, shot in an abandoned amusement park and orchestral concert hall respectively. The artist has edited together a series of images that propose alternative theatrical scenery and stage settings. The gesture emphasizes the absence of players and the emptiness, as nothing is being performed. The “behind the scene” ambience and the vacancy of the space serve as an exploration of support and latency. Sound and movement, players and audience linger outside the image and create the tension between pause and action, stillness and potential.