CAROLINE MONNET
Mobilize, 2015
single-channel video
3:34
Music by Tanya Tagaq
503 Victoria Street
“One […] aspect that was intriguing to me was the use of archival footage to speak about a future time. There’s a tension between the original footage that was created during a time of historical chaos in the treatment of Indigenous people, and between the remix I did in Mobilize, where the visuals are used to summon the mobilization of Indigenous people nation-wide.” – Caroline Monnet
Composed entirely from edited-together clips sourced from Canada’s National Film Board archives, Mobilize celebrates Indigenous knowledge, technologies and labour, highlighting the innovative techniques and virtuosic skills employed in everything from wood carving to steelwork and high-rise building construction. Featuring the impassioned vocals of Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq, Mobilize paints a sweeping history of the resilience and brilliance of rural and urban Indigenous peoples, in the face of the crushing and ongoing effects of colonization.
Caroline Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist from Outaouais, Québec. She studied in Sociology and Communication at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario and the University of Granada, Spain, before pursuing a career in visual arts and films. Her work has been programmed internationally at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany; TIFF, Toronto, Ontario; Sundance, USA; Aesthetica, UK; Palm Springs, USA; Cannes Film Festival; Museum of Contemporary Art, Montréal, Québec; Arsenal Contemporary, New York; Axenéo7, Gatineau, Québec; Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff, Alberta; Division Gallery, Montréal, Québec; and the National Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario. In 2016, she was selected for the prestigious Cinéfondation residency in Paris, France. Her work is included in numerous collections including Québec Museum of Fine Arts, National Art Gallery, RBC Royal Bank, and Museum of Contemporary Art Montréal. Recent exhibitions include the Whitney Biennial and the Toronto Biennale of Art 2019. She is based in Montréal, Québec and represented by Division Gallery.
Caroline Monnet
Mobilize, 2015
single-channel video
courtesy of the Artist
Photos: Frank Luca