By Dory Carr Harris

On Thursday night, two of Toronto’s contemporary galleries unveiled their latest offerings to the public. Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, housed in the massive 401 Richmond complex, is featuring Décalage (2007) by Montréal-based artist Bettina Hoffman. Two sets of two screens face each other on the white walls of the gallery, each set presents a filmed tableau playing a loop whose image is slightly out of sync with that of the screen next to it. In one, two women standing menacingly over the motionless body of another, their faces frozen; while across the gallery a woman sits on the edge of a bed next to a man in post-coital repose(?), staring at her purse on the chair in front of her. Yet, just as the entire image is finally revealed, it disappears from the screen, leaving the viewer utterly disconnected and wanting more.
If feeling bereft and confused is not your bag, head further west to XPACE Cultural Centre, where a practical discussion of relational aesthetics is taking place. Vivência Poética or Poetic Lived Experience is a collection of collaborations between pairs of established and emerging artists (one each) in which the nature of human relations is also the nature of the artwork itself. In A Series of Minor Incidents Diane Borsato (established) and Stacey Sproule (emerging) staged a series of “interventions” described in their artists’ statement as “the emancipation of fluids/smells/objects and the documenting of these acts.” What emerged was in fact a truly endearing photo essay of slightly clumsy girls (they spill drinks, drop groceries, break necklaces).
The reason for the night’s festivities was the live performance of ALMA: Anticipation, Transformation and Journey by Keith Cole and Diana Lopez Soto which incorporates harlequin dolls, tourism, photography, deforestation, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and lots and lots of glitter. Be prepared for an amusing tango where said glitter shoots from the seat of their pants, certainly something to chat about over during that post-performance smoke break.
Bettina Hoffman’s Décalage runs till April 19, 2008 and is part of the Images Festival (April 3-12). Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art; 401 Richmond Avenue West, Suite 124. Vivência Poética runs till March 15, 2008 (so get there quick) and is part of the 2008 Emerging Artists Series. Keith Cole and Diana Lopez Soto will be presenting one last performance tonight at 8 p.m. at XPACE Cultural Centre; 55 Ossington Avenue. $5 donation requested. Photo by Colin Kent.