Alexandra Côté
J’vas t’attendre
September 3–October 25
Vernissage 5 à 7, September 12, 2013
J’vas t’attendre, (I wait for you), is a 20 minute video that explores the longing implicit within a distance relationship. The circumstance of Côté’s husband awaiting his permanent residency status in France, left her with only his clothing in storage in her Montréal home. In an action that recuperates the presence of the absent lover and his contact with her skin, the video documents a performance of transformation as she puts on layer after layer of his clothing. There is a shift in our perception of her as she seemingly expands and refigures herself in his absence. The action makes palpable the presence of absence, her actual body, now padded and large in a white framing field, is hidden from view, encased in his clothing, her second skin.
Alexandra Côté is a BFA candidate at Concordia University