War in candy-colour
PORCELAIN PROJECTILE:
Tang’s “Manga Ormolu version 4.0 g”Sugar Bombs, featuring the work of Diyan Achjadi and Brendan Tang at the MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance) until Dec. 14, is an extravaganza of candy-coloured prints and ceramics, but look beneath the shiny surface and you’ll discover a compelling investigation of the military-industrial complex and its global influences.
First looks are certainly deceiving with Achjadi’s prints. Rendered in neon oranges and pinks, the cartoon images—which look like something you might see in the bedroom of a preteen girl—are constructed around a dark-haired heroine with a face as blank and blissed-out as a doll’s. Unaffected by the chaos that surrounds her, she is the perfect citizen soldier, leading her troupe of cloned cadets in a series of formations and exercises.
Making explicit reference to the commodification of cultural artifacts, Brendan Tang’s gorgeous ceramic sculptures provide a striking visual and thematic counterpart. Tang incorporates replicas of traditional Asian ceramics into his strange and beautiful missile-like objects, but what compels is the tension that these seemingly benign objects create—a threat that manages to have little impact on our young heroine as she stands watch over her burning city.
by STACEY DEWOLFE
Art for Amnesty
NEW DIRECTION: Roadsworth’s “Lonesome Vista”
Montreal street artist Roadsworth will unveil his first canvas pieces tonight, Thursday, Nov. 19 at 6.p.m. at the Eastern Bloc (7240 Clark, 2nd floor), in the name of human rights.
Roadsworth, whose urban graffiti is already familiar to city-dwellers, is one of many local artists including Guillaume Simoneau, Julie Ouellet, Jason Botkin, Mike Patten and Valérie PIcard participating in the multimedia exhibition and silent auction Contemporary Art for Amnesty International, which will raise funds for the human rights organization.
Known for his cartoon-style drawings on city asphalt, Roadsworth is excited to work in a new medium. “You can expect to see more of it from me,” he says.
The night also features music and videos from VJs Mâ and Chocobeets. “Overall, the evening gives a broad overview of a dynamic art scene in Montreal,” says Choco-Beets. “In these times of paranoia and grumpiness, wouldn’t it just feel good to support a cause by going to an art show?”
Tickets cost $40 (75 per cent tax deductible), $25 for students.
by ELIZABETH FAURE
Technicolor triathlon
Montreal audiences have seen contemporary dance troupe Holy Body Tattoo grow and evolve over its 15 years of existence. Adjectives like raw, physical and confrontational come to mind when I look back at their body of work.
 Now, Vancouver-based former Montrealer Noam Gagnon takes a pause from creating with his choreographic half Dana Gingras, and takes the stage alone in The Vision Impure, which he compares to doing a triathlon. The new solo work, which runs over 90 minutes, is made up of three choreographic shorts by Gagnon, DV8 co-founder Nigel Charnock and local movement maker Daniel Levéillé. Gagnon says the creation of this new solo work has given him the opportunity to figure out who he is, alone.
He explains the whole solo process was an enlightening voyage. “Now I’m able to perceive myself differently through humour and many colours. I feel like I’ve added colours to my palette. It’s the beginning of my life in Technicolor!” he laughs. His award-winning solo runs until Nov. 21 at Usine C (1345 Lalonde), 8 p.m., (514) 521-4493.
by MARITES CARINO
Dance card ready with Worn
“Editor-in-Pants” Serah-Marie McMahon doesn’t hide the fact that she and her  team produce Worn Fashion Journal out of her own Toronto living room. A DIY kind of gal, McMahon seems prouder of this fact than of her magazine’s Japanese distribution. But then Worn isn’t your typical fashion rag, either.
“Instead of printing articles about 10 ways to look skinny, we look at the ideas and concepts around clothes,” McMahon says.
Originally based in Montreal, Worn comes back home to launch its ninth issue at Eastern Bloc (7240 Clark) this Saturday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m. Billed as a winter formal, it’s Worn’s fourth launch held in tandem with graphic novelist Sherwin Tjia’s Slow Dance Night. Included in the $10 entrance fee are a copy of the magazine and a nifty dance card. “Before this, we had a Halloween party in Toronto that was ‘Slow Dance of the Living Dead,’” McMahon enthuses. If you’ve been yearning to make jokes about your dance card being full, this is the place!
by DAVID LEVITZ
IS IT ART?
MUSICAL MITTS: Since the outbreak of H1N1, hand-sanitizers and disinfectant  soap have been flying off the shelves. But the real question is: are kids taking hand washing seriously, or are they totally ignorant to the dangers around them?
Disney has teamed up with Healthy Hands to create soap-dispenser tops to ensure that kids are not neglectful when it comes to cleanliness. As you press down on the dispenser, the top plays music for exactly 20 seconds, the perfect amount of time for a child to wash away the germs. Retailing for $3.99 (USD), the tops affix to the top of any liquid soap pumps and even play gender specific songs like “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid and “Real Gone” from Cars.
Gethealthyhands.com
Arts hole
SPENDING FOR A CAUSE: Designers Paulina Ochoa and Deborah Adams team up with Artistri (5319 Parc) owner Jennifer Lonergan for a Christmas Fundraiser benefitting Le Centre des Femmes de Montréal. The sale takes place Wednesday, Nov. 25 from 5–8 p.m. and features Ochoa’s handmade paper lamps and Adams’s leather accessories. • CASH FOR THIS GIRL: Bis Films and Amy Blackmore Choreography come together for the Mash Up Fundraiser, Tuesday, Nov. 24 at Off Interarts (5143 St-Laurent), 7:30 p.m. featuring dance, music, art, film and the talents of Moe Clark, Jake Smith, Vanessa Kneale and more. Ten dollar suggested donations, $3 beers, $4 mixed drinks and the money goes towards an upcoming video dance project, “So There’s This Girl.”
Artistat
The year the stage version of Trainspotting, adapted by Harry Gibson, first appeared and which is being tackled by McGill’s Players’ Theatre (3480
McTavish, 3rd floor) till Nov. 28, featuring Grace Glowicki, Martin Law, David Moote and Daniel Sorger: 1996
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