Wildflowers of Manitoba (Canada, 2007)
by Noam Gonick and Luis Jacob
curated byWayne Baerwaldt

February 7th – February 17th, 2008

Vernissage: February 6th, 2008, 7 pm
Midisage: February 12th, 2008, 7 pm

German version

"Wildflowers of Manitoba" is a performative installation of four short films and sound presented in a furnished geodesic dome. The films feature four young men living off the grid in an idealistic survivalist camp on the shores of Lake Winnipeg during the summer of 2006. The loosely scripted scenes establish a naturalist idyll seemingly removed from modernity. Like wildflowers, the male subjects are intimately tied to a seductive meadow that is bordered by abandoned railway tracks and virgin beaches. Staged for the camera, the set and subjects evoke a distant, more innocent era where alternative, collective lifestyles flourished. The music by visionary seventies Québécois rock band Harmonium suggests the potential for sexual and political freedom.

Noam Gonick and Luis Jacob’s young male subjects perform homosocial activity to achieve spiritual transcendence. While an intense presence is projected by each body on screen, the subjects lose their theatrical pretense when dwarfed against the Canadian landscape of water, sky, rocks and bush. The effect is an unpretentious filmic experience that urges you to fantasize a sequel.

Noam Gonick was born in Winnipeg and studied at Ryerson University. His films and installations have been exhibited internationally. His credits include the documentary Waiting for Twilight (97), the television series Psychic Saturday Night (99), the features Hey, Happy! (01) and Stryker (04), and the installation Wildflowers of Manitoba (07).

Luis Jacob was born in Lima and studied at the University of Toronto. He is a writer and artist whose work has been exhibited at the Toronto Sculpture Garden, the Art Gallery of Ontario, documenta 12 in Kassel, the 2007 Biennale de Montréal and We Can Do This Now at the Power Plant in Toronto. He is represented by Birch Libralato, Toronto.

"Wildflowers of Manitoba" (Canada 2007)
Performance/Installation von Noam Gonick und Luis Jacob,
Curated by Wayne Baerwaldt
Cinematographer: Mike Maryniuk
Editor: Deco Dawson
Costume Designer: Darena Snowe
Art Director: Jason Kennett
Principal Cast: Andrew Cecil, Cyrus Smith, Niki Lount, Dan McRorie

Vernissage
February 6th, 2008, 7 pm

Midisage
February 12th, 2008, 7 pm

exhibition
February 7th – Februar 17th, 2008

opening hours
Wed – Sat | 2 – 6 pm

location
WILDE GALLERY
Chausseestrasse 7
D-10115 Berlin
info@wilde-gallery.com
www.wilde-gallery.com