Captured by Quebecers

Wilmore Kentucky’s Ichthus Festival is often called the Woodstock of the Christian world, the major difference being that Ichthus happens every year and people probably don’t get as stoned. Nope, they’re busy spreading the good word of the Lord, like the man pictured here, in a moment captured by La Presse photographer Martin Tremblay.

Last week, Tremblay picked up the Antoine-Desilets prize for his soldier-of-God-meets-goth shot in the first-ever edition of the contest, which narrows in on the best of Quebec-based photojournalists’ work in the past year. Like the international World Press photo contest and exhibition, which was in Montreal last September, Photos de Presse du Québec features finalists in several categories—sports, portraits etc.—with one overall winner. The top 40 images are on display at the Maison de la culture Frontenac (2550 Ontario E., #2) until Jan. 22, co-presented with Fédération professionelle des journalistes du Québec. —Matthew Woodley

Testes, testes 1, 2, 3

Lord knows one takes one’s chances when deciding to head out for a guffaw-packed evening of local comedy. And if the Lord knows anything besides evolution being one big pack of lies, it’s that when it comes to sketch comedy, the odds of the discerning comedy enthusiast actually experiencing a laugh or two are deeply stacked against them. But have you ever seen that movie, Fubar? Yes, of course you have, and it was kind of funny, wasn’t it? So perhaps it won’t be such a hit or miss affair when the Fubar guys—Dave Lawrence and Paul Spence—team up with Eric Amber and the local yukstafarians from Kidnapper Films to present the Balls Out Christmas Special. According to writer/impresario/performer Eric Amber, “Essentially it’s a retarded variety show—kind of like The Muppet Show. No, better, think Saturday Night Live, but it’s in Montreal and we swear and talk about ridiculous shit.” Unlike SNL, however, the Balls Out troupe might actually be funny. Check it out this Friday, Dec. 16, 11 p.m., at Théâtre Ste-Catherine (264 Ste-Catherine E., 284-3939), $7. —Chris Barry

Let it snow

Don’t complain about the weather. If you lived in Sanikiluaq, a small Arctic community of 830 people on the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay, the first snows start in September and sometimes don’t melt until June. Each year the community hunts their limit of 25 polar bears (called Nanook in Inuktitut) for their meat and fur. Nothing is wasted from the hunt. The fur found around the bear’s neck is often worn away from rubbing against the ice when they enter and exit the water. This makes it useless for many purposes, but 11 women from the Najuqsivik Sewing Circle have found a use for this part of the bear—they make them into a kind of snowflake. Two hundred and fifty of these “Nanook Flakes” are coming down from the North to fill the window of Galerie la Centrale (4296 St-Laurent) with their beautiful sheen and reflected light. The installation also includes a video with sound showing images of the sewing group and their community. Opening Dec. 16, 7 p.m., and running until Jan.14, 871-0268. —Christine Redfern

Exponential explanations

If you only have time to check out one exhibition over the next few days, you might consider spending time with Pierre Tremblay’s installation at Observatoire 4 (372 Ste-Catherine W., #426). His latest, Portraits in a Sentence, allows you to eavesdrop on over 100 artists, filmmakers, architects and writers as they talk about their work. Using either video or photography to capture his subjects, Tremblay dissects each individual into multiple viewpoints and replays them back to us as a six-channel video on a stack of television sets. One after the other, Tremblay’s portraits of each artist appear. Playback is random, triggered by the viewers’ movements in the gallery. This means there is always a new dialogue being generated depending on the order in which each segment plays, giving the viewer the impression they’re experiencing a new conversation between the artists each time. Exhibition ends Dec. 17, info: 866-5320. —Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

WRINKLES AND TIME: The glove-driven computers that Tom Cruise operates throughout Minority Report (until he’s banned from the Department of Pre-Crime after the Pre-Cogs deem him an imminent murderer) haven’t hit the market yet, and that’s okay because the film doesn’t take place for another 49 years. Meanwhile, it seems that scientists have finally “uncovered the secrets of the plant world.” Yves Rocher’s pioneering Botanical Intelligence™ concept is based on analogies their researchers drew between the Acacia tree and human beings’ most Saran Wrap™-like organ: skin. In short, it may or may not make you look younger. While waiting for YR’s Serum Vegatal Corrective Intervention with Botanical Polyosides formulas to hit the market in early 2006, you can read more on how they reduce wrinkle depth and improve the biomechanical properties of the epidermis at www.yvesrocher.ca.

ArtsHole

TWICE THIS WEEK: Internationally known choreographers, Israeli-bred Avi Kaiser and Italian-bred Sergio Antonio, present the 70-minute-long fruition of their work over the past few months with 11 UQÀM dance students. 4 fois / sem unfolds at Agora de la danse (840 Cherrier E.), 8 p.m. nightly until Dec. 17. • FRINGE FUZZ: Projet Nomade blends concept theatre, interpretive dance, video production and live music accompaniment into one crazy show they’re calling White Noise. The performance sees a refugee, a patient, a prisoner and a thinker dealing with life on the fringe. It takes place in the industrial loft space le Sous-Sol (7240 Clark, north of Jean-Talon) Dec. 16–17 and 20–21, at 8 p.m.

ARTISTAT: Number of envelopes containing a photograph sent by local art collective Fovea to artists and collectives around the world, inviting them to send back a new artefact—all of which are on display at La Maison de la culture du Plateau Mont-Royal (465 Mont-Royal E.) till Jan. 22: 200

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