Window on a dream world

Serge Clément's photographic installation, "Persona" at Galerie Occurrence, is as enigmatic as its title suggests. Five black and white photographs are strewn throughout the room. Their highly surreal, dreamlike atmosphere is evoked by Clément's masterful use of both photographic technique and visual metaphor.

The installed portion consists of four huge-scale photos of abandoned or demolished spaces printed on transparent sheets, each masking the gallery's huge windows. Because they are printed on transparent sheets, the whites of the photographs are actually clear, thus incorporating the outside city into his dream world. What Clément's use of the word "persona" refers to is never made explicit, but that only serves to deepen the intrigue of his work. "Persona" walks the fine line between dream and reality and like any great dream (and all good art), is strange, beautiful and deeply involving. At 460 Ste-Catherine W., # 307, until June 18. : --Sholem Krishtalka

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