Blurring borders

Local artist Mei-Kuei Feu says that when she moved to Montreal from Taiwan in the mid-’90s, it was the back alleys that most reminded her of home. “In back alleys we find the leftover materials of our urban environment,” she explains. “I did not grow up in a permanent house made of bricks; my father built our house out of found materials. As our family grew, so did the dwelling. Much of it was made out of corrugated plastic, even the bathroom. During the day the material let in the light from the outside, but also I could see forms and shadows passing by.”

With the exhibit Chemin Perdu, Feu has captured these memories in four hauntingly beautiful photographs of Montreal back alleys shot through plastic. They tease us like a vision from our past that we remember, but can no longer bring into focus. At Maison de la culture Plateau-Mont-Royal (465 Mont-Royal E.) until March 3. Info: 872-2266. :
—Christine Redfern