L: "Olympic Afterlife" exhibition view, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Jean-Maxime Dufresne & Virginie Laganière, 2015.

R: "Olympic Afterlife" artist talk, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, 2015.

Profile

Jean-Maxime Dufresne and Virginie Laganière are research artists based in Montreal. In their collaborative work, post-architectural scenarios explore transformations of built spaces tied to their social reality, extended to investigations of the human psyche and unresolved phenomena. Delving into fictional and documentary strategies, this multifaceted inquiry combines photography, installation, sound, video, light, archival material and sculptural elements. Their ongoing research looks into the complex narratives of often controversial Olympic venues and the afterlife of the Games in Beijing, Athens, Montreal and Sarajevo, a project continuing in Berlin, Helsinki, Munich and Tokyo in 2015.

www.jmdufresne.ca
www.virginielaganiere.com

Residence Plan

As participants of AIR3331 Open Call, Jean-Maxime Dufresne & Virginie Laganière have focused on the narratives surrounding architectural sites of the Olympics held in 1964 and being staged for 2020 in Tokyo. The 1964 Olympics attempted to restore a sense of national pride following Japan's involvement in WWII by rehabilitating symbols like the Rising Sun. Architect Kenzo Tange designed the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, considered a seminal building of the Metabolist architectural movement envisioned to deal with urban growth in Japan. As Tokyo hosts the 2020 Olympics, the centrally-located Tsukiji fish market, which employs 65 000 workers on a daily basis, is bound to be relocated.

The residency is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.

ONGOING EXHIBITION: "Olympic Afterlife"
June 8 (Mon) - 27 (Sat) 2015 12:00 - 19:00
3331 Arts Chiyoda 2F, 205 (Free entry)

Photographic narratives from post-olympic sites in Athens, Beijing, Montreal and Sarajevo are on exhibit in the studio throughout the residency. As Jean-Maxime & Virginie continue to explore Tokyo, their ongoing research on the Olympics will be visible in the studio.

OPEN STUDIO & ARTIST TALK
June 25 (Thu) 17:00 - 19:00 *Talk begins at 6PM
3331 Arts Chiyoda 2F, 205 (Free entry)

We welcome you to the residence studio for a casual, bilingual discussion with the artists. Photography and video is presented in exploration of post-olympic uses, their daily life and maintenance, as well as the potential imaginary they hold for citizens through time and their entanglements with larger societal issues.