© Danielle Carter, 2022.
As part of the 8th edition of Montreal Monochrome, writer Dani Carter presents ONE WOMAN IS VERY BAD.
As a Black queer person, experiencing the present, past, and future as indistinguishable from each other, and the cumulative weight of this chimeric stew—of these parts of time crashing together—is frequently overwhelming. Collective trauma and genetic memory spill out of our pasts and both infect and subtly mutate our presents; likewise, microaggressions threaten to pull us out of the present—perhaps even out of the future, where the possibility of change exists—into an antiquated understanding, or lack thereof, of Blackness.
Dani Carter is interested in visualizing this invisible weight in the context of poetry, specifically, in the context of a performance-reading. They will knit together texts across time and discipline, including but not limited to works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; slave ship logbooks; lyrics; film scripts; and critical theory. Their intention is to blur the physical and vocal boundaries between each text—as does the poet Susan Howe in her performance of Frolic Architecture, by which this proposal is deeply influenced—both to negate the supremacy of a single text and to maintain a degree of opacity in the fabric of the performance.
To further visualize this weight, and in response to the ableist and racialized pressure to entertain, perform, and work, which has been subverted by initiatives like The Nap Ministry, they will conduct the reading on the floor, lying in a supine position and moving intuitively as necessary. As a writer interested in diversifying and radicalizing their artistic practice, their goal is to challenge the expectations and constraints that are imposed on readings, including the granular constraints of body language.
Considering the increase in COVID 19 and flu transmissions, please note that masks must be worn for the duration of the events.
© kimura byol, 2022.
Dani Carter is a Black, neurodivergent, and queer writer whose practice has traditionally focused on found text. Two of their found poems, “mirabilis” and “local honey,” appeared in antilang’s tenth issue. Their impulse as a writer is to suck the venom out of texts that have caused harm.
As aforementioned, she is interested in diversifying and radicalizing her artistic practice, which has not yet fused with or incorporated performance. This project will be their first step into a new context: it will allow them to cut a new prism through which to examine and kink their work.
Montreal Monochrome is an annual conference organized by articule’s Fabulous Committee (anti-oppression). It aims to address the mis- and under-representation and systemic oppression of marginalized groups in Montréal’s contemporary art milieu. The conference works toward imagining and nurturing new and existing bonds, solidarities and friendships between Indigenous artists, thinkers and cultural workers and their racialized allies.
As a project of the Fabulous Committee, this year the Short Term Programming Committee is joining the efforts of the Fabulous Committee to combine the annual conference with a window exhibition and a Special Project. Both proposals are an invitation to think about the new gallery space in terms of multiple notions of time.
Given that accessibility is contextual, varied and dynamic, if any aspect of our programming is inaccessible to you now or in the future, please let us know. We are happy to discuss and provide an alternative.
articule is located in a ground floor commercial building in Villeray neighbourhood. There are no stairs at the gallery, and to enter, the front door has a slope (light inclination). There is one glass door to get into the gallery. A staff member can assist you with the door.
Accessibility contact: Aziza Nassih - outreach@articule.org