Get thee to a nunnery

by Sholem Krishtalka

Of all the places you'd expect to find a good art show, nunneries never quite topped the list--until now. In situ: une communauté au quotidien is a new show at the Centre Marguerite d'Youville (1185 St-Mathieu) by young local photographer Valérie Jodoin-Keaton. The photographs on display are the culmination of a three-year-long project that Jodoin-Keaton undertook in an effort to document the lives of the Soeurs Grises de Montreal.

The exhibition space is small and takes some finding, but the pictures make it more than worth the effort. The photographs, all documentary style, range from architectural shots of the Centre Marguerite d'Youville to shots of the nuns' daily lives and intimate portraits. The result is one strange little show. Jodoin, a recent graduate of Dawson's professional photography program, has not only documented the lives of these nuns in a manner that is neither patronizing nor devotional (not an easy task in and of itself); her lushly poetic photos are also possessed of a strange fragility and a quiet beauty. The show runs through June 30.

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