joshua schwebel

in my agenda: the name, josh, an arrow, the time, 17:30 – 18:30. then the words, parc bernard – st-viateur hutchison. the times and the names of the street i copied from the lost/found section of the classifieds in the mirroir. joshua schwebel was hiding in public space and he had announced the locations and times in the lost/found sections of the classifieds.

the locations were announced with the dates, time and place. no « thing » or « person » was listed as « lost. » this was not a game of hide and seek. but on the day i went looking for josh (as an informed « insider » as to the nature of what the lost/found referred to) i did not know if i would find josh, or indeed if he was even hiding. i set off on my bike looking for parc bernard, somewhere between st-viateur and hutchison. after doing the turn of the block i decided to ask a young girl if she knew where parc bernard was. or if there was even a park nearby. she informed me (with an air of exasperation) that parc was the name of a street and so was bernard, and no…there was no parc bernard nearby. (uh..huh adomished by a twelve-year old).

joshua schwebel

to loiter is a criminal offense under the canadian criminal code. if you are not homeless, or a youth of questionable status you probably do not have to worry much about being apprehended by the police for staying in one place for more than twenty minutes.

however if you are a male your presence is more likely to cause discomfort in those around you if you appear to be « doing nothing » or if you appear to be occupying space in a strange fashion or in a strange location. and this joshua schwebel is doing. hiding in public. taking up public space in a way that is not considered « correct. » but he is also listing his location (or the approximate whereabouts of his location) and the time he will be hiding in the lost and found section of the classifieds in the weekly mirror and voir. listing oneself as lost, yet naming the approximate location where one is lost, and the time one is lost. an interesting proposition don’t you think?

joshua schwebel: http://joshuaschwebel.com

jennifer bélanger, irene izquierdo, birte endrejat and joshua schwebel…when artists talk

what: artist talk by jennifer bélanger, birte endrejat, irene izquierdo and joshua schwebel

where: skol gallery

when: september 16, 2009

when artists talk you learn things…and this is especially true when the artist engages in a practice that can not (for whatever reason) disclose itself as « art » while you are experiencing it. confused?

well, take jennifer bélanger for instance who shared with us the time she sent gifts to strangers, such as flowers to the women who work at the dollar store. this project, like much of jennifers work, relies upon an encounter that takes us out of our daily routine and encourages us to look at the world through fresh eyes. although don’t let the « nice girl » role fool you, jennifer also has her mischievous side too…