Do it for dualism

Montreal artist :Peru found himself with his catchy adopted name because he grew up in Lima - easy enough. The colon he added himself. It's a testament to what he says is his belief in the balance of equality, a minimalist nod to the influence of Eastern philosophies in his life. And that, at the core, is what's behind the images in his paintings: the floating animals suspended from dice, the hull of a giant ship as seen from sea level, the silhouettes of kids on a train track against a fiery sky. Street-style lettering mixes with images that are playful while posing the bigger question of what we're all doing in this crazy business we call life.

:Peru shares the walls of the Green Room (5386 St-Laurent) with the conceptual stylings of Iris Taborsky-Tasa (she of Haiiku designs - and dig that dualistic "ii"), whose dresses fashioned of materials such as cardboard and bubble wrap also open plenty of the imagination's doors. Their split show, Do It for Yourself, is up until March 18. » Matthew Woodley

Ripples affect

Bury big speakers in a two-ton basin of water, play some electronic music, illuminate the surface with lights, and watch as the sound, water and light waves interact. Welcome to Ondulation, an installation by Thomas McIntosh, Mikko Hynninen and Emmanuel Madan, currently at the Musée d'art contemporain.

The concept appears straightforward, but the results are surprisingly hypnotic and poetic. The waves become a visual material reflected on the wall, which the artists sculpt into a variety of 3D forms that look like spinning tornados, pulsing grills and topographical maps.

The three also perform live with the work, but I'd personally recommend experiencing the installation alone, rather than the similar, but crowded performance - unless the artists seriously loosen up and start to play with the piece, that is. Who knows, maybe new media's silent and reverential audience might even respond with some unbridled emotion. The final performance takes place on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m, and the exhibition runs until March 6. » Christine Redfern

Hyperactive bastard lovechildren

How to describe the zaniness that is Ratsicule? If Lederhosen Lucil had a couple of equally hyperactive sisters who were kidnapped and raised in Paris... No, better yet, we'll let the effervescent Bardot sisters, Kristi and Lisa, describe themselves: "The bastard lovechildren of a brief yet fruitful romance between Brigitte Bardot (maman of yéyé) and Joey Ramone (père of punk rock), Ratsicule is un vraiment mélange de karaoke, philosophie, plus de moves chauds et special musique shake, avec les outfits sexies et les harmonies érotiques."

The Toronto gals are rocking Montreal this weekend, supported by electro-girl Suck Machine and the irreverent Trannie Tronic with Sunbreaker. Feb. 26, 9 p.m., all part of Meow Mix at La Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent), $10; and Feb. 27, 8 p.m., at Mile End Bar (5322 St-Laurent), $10. » Vincent Tinguely

Stuck in space

"Some events mark you more in your life than others," says O Vertigo choreographer Ginette Laurin. "I lost my partner three years ago and that was the event that made me want to work with memory."

After two years of development, including collaboration with an astrophysicist, Laurin created Passare, a work for nine, which runs from Feb. 25–27 at Place des Arts as part of the Montreal High Lights festival. "It's a piece that explores the traces left by the human body in space and time," she explains. "And it's about memory and how it changes."

In the company's 20-year evolution, Laurin has increasingly explored incorporating technology into her creations. For this piece, using hidden cameras, video projections and digital effects, she creates the illusion of what imprints of human movement might be if they were to remain in space. For tickets, call 842-2112. » Marites Carino

Is it Art?

CH'I IN THE ART OF UNDERWEAR: Most people have learned the right way to pronounce feng shui ("fung-shway"), so let's delve into some more advanced topics. In that terrain, the rules vary. Position your bed facing the door, some advise, but not with a window behind your head or out go the good vibes while you sleep. Three in a photo and the middle will die, claim others. From the entry point of a house, the area in the back and to the far right is the "relationship corner," according to yet others. Then there's Chinese shway-master Yeung Tin Ming, who recently came up with a spiritual underpant designed especially for the brand new Chinese year of the rooster, or cock. The tighty-whities come adorned with a dragon, said to balance out the volatile energy of said bird - odious, horny chicken dads that they are. Available for women and men.

ArtsHole

GOOD NIGHT: Inspired by Paris's lauded 2002 Nuit Blanche, the second annual Montreal All-Nighter starts this Saturday, Feb. 26 and continues well into the morning of the 27th with an impressive array of activities going on around the city's streets, clubs, museums, galleries - even at the casino, even at city hall! Don't sleep through this one, www.montrealenlumiere.com for the schedule. • BEYOND THUNDERDOME? Montreal gets its very own rural enclave this weekend when Les Dômes de glace is inaugurated at the Peel Basin on the Lachine Canal (Peel and de la Commune). The village is a collaboration between artists Ana Rewakowicz and Steve Topping, who have been constructing it since Feb. 15 using inflatable vinyl domes built on a frame of plastic pipes, that, with the help of water, a battery and several forces of nature, give birth to transparent ice structures, thus freeing the vinyl structures to build more domes. They'll be on display until they melt.

ARTISTAT: Estimated number of women murdered or gone missing since 1993 in the Mexican city of Juarez, the basis of Claudia Bernal's memorial and awareness-raising video installation, Monument à Ciudad Juarez, at the Maison de la Culture Frontenac (2550 Ontario E.) until March 24: 300–400

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