CAFKA TV

SURVIVE. RESIST: BGL

Crowd control barriers of the type used by BGL are normally employed by authorities to proscribe areas of permitted public accessibility and activity during events and political demonstrations. With these barriers, high above the ground and suspended from the branches of trees and lampposts, as if tossed in the air by a tornado, BGL invite us to imagine the liberation of social life without restraint.

Known for cheeky, critical and explosive works, BGL (Jasmin Bilodeau, Sébastien Giguère and Nicolas Laverdière) are know for creating self-referential in-situ installations that take over architecture and encompass a gallery’s context. The resulting artworks speak directly to contemporary culture and the nostalgia of memory. BGL was created while the three were studying at Laval University. For over 13 years, they have exhibited widely and frequently both in solo and group exhibitions including The 1er Bienal del fin del mundo, Ushuaia, Argentina; the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal; Musée d’art moderne Lille Métropole, France; Mercer Union, Toronto; Hart House, University of Toronto; The Havana Biennale, Cuba; and The Montréal Biennale. They have been recognized by the Canada Council for the Arts, The Conseil des arts et letters du Québec and are finalists for the Sobey Award. Their work is found in the collections of the Musée National des Beaux-arts du Québec, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Gallery of Canada.