Marvelling in microland

Striking images of spider webs and carbon paper - on a micro and nanoscale - are the stuff of Ælab's (Gisèle Trudel and Stéphane Claude) Data exhibition. The work was developed through a residency at McGill's chemistry department. This hidden realm that we rarely experience is a very seductive world. I myself got a glimpse of its potential when, after receiving my BFA, I went back to university as part of the Faculty of Surgery at the University of Toronto. I remember starring into the microscope at a histology slide, turning to fellow students and exclaiming, "Wow, this is one of the most beautiful abstract paintings I have ever seen!" They all looked at me like I was nuts. Over the next three years I was repeatedly thrilled while discovering the micro-beauty of the human body, but avoided expressing it out loud again.

Luckily for us, Ælab isn't keeping quiet. Instead, the pair bridges the scientific with the artistic through images, sound and video. Data opens tonight, Dec. 9, 6 p.m. at the Saidye (5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine) and runs until January 16 with a conference on Jan. 11, 739-2301. » Christine Redfern

The space is the place

What luck to stumble upon an abandoned toy store. And even better when you're looking for a place to host an art show about pop media, as Black&White - aka partners Jason Wasserman and Krista Bursey - recently did in St-Henri. "It's been empty since the late '80s," Wasserman says. "It's the completely forgotten-about piece of pop culture. There are cartoon murals on the wall of Robocop, Batman, Barbie… Those are the key elements, really."

The find is so fitting because B&W's Eidolon, the first in a two-part series of multimedia madness, revolves around the psychological repercussions of mass media, exploring "the balance between design aesthetics and paranoia." "We did one painting of a contortionist that basically serves as the icon for the whole thing," says Wasserman. "It's the body warped under that particular stress."

The pair, who create all their works in tandem, are joined in Eidolon's part one by Bruno C., whose enticing sound-design installation "Birthday" incorporates an eclectic mix of materials with lighting and video production. "We're looking for a balance between concept and technical craftsmanship, and that's hard to find in visual art," Wasserman says. The exhibition opens this Saturday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., and runs until the 17th (3417 Notre-Dame). Part two hits the SAT next September. » MATTHEW WOODLEY

Controversial cuts

Ottawa-based choreographer Lainie Towell's short solo work Lifeline (The Uncut Version) came out of a recent trip to West Africa where she was doing a three-month dance residency. In the Guinean community where she was living, Towell met a girl who was said to have been hit by a car. "Her skirt came up, and her genital area was all dark and crusty," she recalls, but it wasn't until much later Towell realized that traditional female circumcision had likely taken place.

Upon returning to Canada, Towell started researching the topic further and she discovered that "80 per cent of women in Guinea undergo female genital cutting, despite the country's existing anti-FGC laws." Her dance-performance-art piece, which explores ritual, community and personal feelings, is featured in the series Vernisage Danse#119 at Studio 303 (372 Ste-Catherine W.), which also includes works by Michelle Zitomer, Frédéric Marier, Shandoah Goldman and Claudia Fancello, Dec. 11, at 8:30 p.m., 393-3771. » Marites Carino

Empire strikes black

Andy Warhol's Empire was filmed on the night of July 25-26, 1964, using a static camera situated on the 44th floor of the Time-Life building. The black and white film unfolds in almost an exact ratio of reel time to real time. It begins with a totally white screen and, as the sun sets, the Empire State Building emerges. The building's lights flicker on and off for the next six-and-a-half hours, then the floodlights go off again and the remainder of the film takes place in nearly total darkness.

This weekend, a plethora of local musicians and performers will provide accompanying entertainment during a free screening of Empire, which is part of the Ellen Gallery's Timelength exhibition. For added excitement, try to spot the film crew, or Warhol himself, reflected in the window when the reels are changed and the lights in the office from which they were shooting were temporarily left on. Sunday, Dec. 12, 4 p.m. at La Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent). » Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

NUTCRACKIN' NIGHTMARE: The following is the first verse of "Glooooooria (not Glen)," one of 19 carol parodies in the ever-so-witty Dysfunctional Family Christmas Songbook (Broadway, $13.95), written by soon-to-be coal-lump recipients John Boswell and Lenore Skenazy, and sung to the tune of "Angels We Have Heard on High": "I like wearing heels so high/when I lock the bathroom door/Shoot some hormones in my thigh/Sneak a peak at Elle Décor/Glo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-r-ia/That will be my new name/Glo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-r-ia/I can't wait to be a dame."

ArtsHole

KOPS FOR A CAUSE: In the good spirit of giving, some of Montreal's finest artists and turntablists come together this Tuesday, Dec. 14, at the Main Hall (5390 St-Laurent) to auction off art in support of Plateau women's shelter Multifemmes. The event is presented by Massive Riot Gallery and Kops Crew, who are also currently hosting an exhibit featuring several street-inspired artists next door at Massive Riot (5392 St-Laurent) that's well worth checking out. • GARTER STUFFER? Toronto hostess and wig-wearing party on wheels Kristyn Dunnion (aka Miss Kitty Galore) brings her new queer, punk rock teen novel Mosh Pit to Pharmacie Esperanza (5490 St-Laurent) Dec. 16 at 9 p.m. Dancing tunes will be provided care of DJs Lynne T. and Leila P, and it's free.

ARTISTAT: Number of artists and craftspeople selling giftworthy goods at the Societé des arts technologiques' second annual seasonal sale, Souk@SAT, opening today, Dec. 9, and continuing until the 12th (1195 St-Laurent): 46

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