Founded in 2007, Fridge Door showcases an exhibition each semester to promote the production of student art. Born out of the absence of a fine arts program, it aims to establish a creative platform for students to engage with and discuss visual arts. More importantly, it motivates students to view the fine arts as an accessible means of expression.

Kavya Anchuri, one of the artists featured in this semester’s exhibit, told The Daily, “‘Perspectives / Perceptions’ allows students […] who wouldn’t have [the] time or the interest to go to a museum [to see art]. It’s a fantastic outlet for people to display their own work.”
The exhibition analyzed the topics of reality and perspective through a range of mediums, including photography, collage, painting, and illustration. It strove to promote a widening of horizons and to highlight, through art, different views of reality. A diverse selection of works showcased students’ multi-faceted responses to the ways art is defined, lending equal weight to both amateurs and professionals in the discussion.

A diverse selection of works [in the “Perspectives / Perceptions” exhibit] showcased students’ multi-faceted responses to the ways art is defined, lending equal weight to both amateurs and professionals in the discussion.

One of the Fridge Door Gallery’s taglines for the exhibition was that “art deals with representations that are never pure reflections of reality.” Hayley Mortin’s collages titled Amalgam II, IV, and V played with this idea by exposing the viewer to different spatial perspectives and points of reference. Mortin used mixed media to create compositions which depicted faceless figures and human silhouettes. This placed the viewer inside the work, as the featureless forms allowed them to project themselves into the scenes and spaces that Mortin had created.

Anchuri took a different approach to her photo Hole-in-the-Fence, Backyard. The focal point of this work is a blue fence, something often completely ignored by passersby. Anchuri’s piece is realist, static, and direct, but still plays with physical perspective. Hole-in-the-Fence, Backyard was the product of Anchuri’s experimentation in the summer of 2015, she explained to The Daily.

“It was evening time and the fence was newly painted in my backyard, so I went around and started fooling around with my camera, and that is where the photo came from,” Anchuri said. “The photo speaks to perspective because [it is taken] so close to the fence. It isn’t a noticeable spot by adults, [since] it is so low down, so it can only really be seen by children. It’s interesting because how we perceive the world is so dependent on variables like height, size and how we move. Perception is influenced by our own biology.”

Often, we leave big questions such as “what is art?” to scholars and academics with a vast background in art history and aesthetics. However, in this Fridge Door Gallery exhibition, students engaged with this lofty question. This is important, as student voices are often ignored. Although it can be argued that they still have much to learn, it is refreshing to see these questions addressed by the student population through visual arts.

Often, we leave big questions such as “what is art?” to scholars and academics with a vast background in art history and aesthetics. However, in this Fridge Door Gallery exhibition, students engaged with this lofty question.

“Perspectives / Perceptions” created an expressive and intellectual space in a university environment where we are often constrained by academic demands. To those who would usually disregard the arts, the exhibition offered a creative outlet. It did so especially well in light of its position at an academically rigorous university, where sometimes students do not or cannot consider art beyond a peripheral approach, due to a lack of time and motivation. Ultimately, the exhibition allowed students to voice their opinions on the substance of art through their own work.

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The Flood Thereafter is set in a Quebec fishing village on the lower St. Lawrence River where the men can no longer fish because they are ensnared by the beauty of the mermaid Grace (Daphné Morin), who has washed up on the shore. Grace leaves to open a shop with her daughter June (Camille Banville), whose father is one of the fishermen, causing the village to slump into poverty as the fishermen refuse to work due to their despair. However, the fishermen find unexpected solace in June, whose dancing at the grungy village bar brings the men to tears.

“Greek mythology is real in some ways, it is present in our lives. […] The Odyssey is so tragic and the idea of leaving home and coming back is something that is common to a lot of people. The idea that the fisherman is someone who is always lost at sea is a very powerful thing that everyone can relate to.”

The play is an reinterpretation of the tale of Odysseus and the Sirens, in which the Sirens attempt to lure Odysseus away from his journey home using their beauty and entrancing songs. There is a quasi-Odysseus character in Dennis (Jérémy Benoit), a traveller going home who is bewitched by June’s spell. The Siren character type, portrayed through Grace and June, are ambiguously supernatural, leaving the audience spell-bound. Although there are slightly heavy-handed references to the original story, writer Sarah Berthiaume and directors da Fonseca and Daphné Morin manage to mould the epic theme of homecoming to the Quebecois setting.

Quebecois slang is weaved into the English-language narrative through Grace, who dips in and out of French throughout her dialogue with June. Ultimately, the play’s translation to the St. Lawrence region is not entirely out of place with the setting of the original tale – as it links together seafaring in both The Odyssey and The Flood Thereafter. Da Fonseca spoke to The Daily about the importance of the Greek epic futher. “Greek mythology is real in some ways, it is present in our lives. […] The Odyssey is so tragic and the idea of leaving home and coming back is something that is common to a lot of people. The idea that the fisherman is someone who is always lost at sea is a very powerful thing that everyone can relate to,” Da Fonseca said.

As the Sirens’ spell attracted the fishermen, the acting in TNC’s production pulled the audience into the drama. June and Grace are both superbly performed. They manage to depict a dichotomy of innocence and maturity through their mother-daughter relationship. It becomes impossible to differentiate the actor from her role as Banville plays June’s character masterfully. Dennis, the wandering driver who enters the bar during one of June’s bewitching dances, takes a little while to adjust to his role, but once in full flow, the passion and the role come through in waves as he becomes by the particular spell of the village.

Another intriguing coupling within the play lies in that of Homer (Pierre-Luc Senécal) and Penelope (Amalea Ruffett). Their relationship resonates with the drama of the play, where Homer, a fisherman taken by June’s dancing, is in conflict with Penelope, his wife, who finds herself jealous of June’s captivation of Homer.

The Flood Thereafter has many qualities of a “Great American Novel” feel, drawing parallels between the public sphere and its impact on familial relations. As in Ancient Greek tragedy, the message is muddled by the tragicomic episodes of woe played out on stage. The production plays with the importance of homecoming, drawing familiar feelings of faithfulness toward what’s dear to us. The viewer becomes one of the play’s characters, swept along by the authentic acting and dialogue, and by an occasional feeling of quirky relaxation, a sentiment that the The Odyssey definitely did not evoke of Ancient Greek viewers at the time.

The play runs March 23 to 25 at 8 p.m. at Morrice Hall.

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Bodywash is a group of musicians who perform in the self-invented genre of cream pop, a dreamy, synth-based version of dream pop, which was made popular by the likes of Tame Impala and The Radio Dept. Having started jamming in the basement of McGill’s Gardner Hall, the group, coming from Toronto, Malaysia, the U.S., and the UK, started out playing a few gigs to find their sound.

The end of 2015 saw a name change from the previous Cult Classic, and a newly released self-titled EP, cementing the band’s jump from small-scale group of McGill musicians to a Montreal band with an incredibly well-produced set of songs and a unique sound. Their live session for “Nothing At All” was released on February 12, and it set the stage for a successful new year for Bodywash.

As I tried to work the recording software, we chatted about “Nothing At All,” which became one of my favourite songs right after its release. The live session is set in Redpath Hall, a building steeped in history and a landmark on the McGill campus. With an emphasis on technicality and music rather than image, the inoffensive and smart backdrop proves a fitting parallel to the band’s single.

One thing that sticks out about Bodywash is how much they can riff off of each other both in the band and socially. That’s how “Nothing At All” became a synth of diverse emotional states and expressions. The single captures a quirky medium between melancholy and joy. Propelled by a strong beat, the song features drifting lyrics that sweep over you before bringing you back down with a consistent bass.

The Daily spoke to Bodywash about their new single and upcoming plans.

The McGill Daily (MD): The video you released is a live session of one of your songs, “Nothing At All.” It’s one of my favourites because of the vibe and feel of the song, and I was wondering how you reach this unique sound capturing a moment between happiness and sadness?

Chris Steward (CS): The song was born out of the graveyard of the sexual frustration that constitutes all our love lives…

Adam Macpherson (AM): But mostly Chris’s because [he] wrote it.

CS: Well, melancholy is definitely in there.

Tom Gould (TG): So much of this dreamful genre is focused around this weird juxtaposition of sad lyrics and kind of happy music.

CS: [The song] is […] drifting all the time. It’s a big propulsive rhythm section, everything else just kind of glides on top of it.

MD: One of the big bands that you are frequently compared to is Tame Impala, and I think that the sound is similar in that it’s beat-driven, very melodic, and captures that in-between feel of eclectic emotions well.

CS: We’d be lying if we said we weren’t inspired by Kevin [Parker of Tame Impala].

MD: How did you reach that ambience? Was there an actual pinpoint moment when you wrote the lyrics, and what inspiration did you take?

CS: I was basically wandering around places, mumbling [lyrics] into my phone. […] I was reading a lot of books when I was writing. I was literally alone for three months, didn’t really see anyone.

So much of [the cream pop] genre is focused around this weird juxtaposition of sad lyrics and kind of happy music.

MD: In “Nothing At All,” you avoid showing your faces and feature the process of playing the instruments and feeling the vibe instead. Was that a purposeful decision?

CS: No, not really.

TG: I just think the videographer was repulsed by us…

Austin Pine (AP): That was kind of cool, though, to just have us all in this half-circle, because we never really get to play looking at one another.

CS: Also, we’ve already showed […] our facial expressions [in other songs], at least now there will be some idea of how we play the instruments.

MD: What kind of impact do you think your music has on the McGill student population? Do you feel like it fits the McGill music scene or do you think you’re outside of that?

TG: I don’t really feel like we’re aiming at students. […] There are bands at McGill that are cool, but there isn’t really a cohesive scene.

AM: I mean, we would love to play with more McGill bands that are coming up, but right now we don’t really know [who we would play with].

TG: To the second part of your question, I would add that yeah, we’re less focused on McGill.

AP: I mean, there’s a little more room to grow in a wider community.

TG: The more shows we start getting into, the more inspiration we start to get [outside of the university environment].

CS: I think [Montreal] facilitates this sort of creative artist lifestyle. There are certain very definite preconditions for artists, which is basically a lot of cheap labour, like lots of jobs you can pick up and leave afterwards, a big student population, and lots of venues to play at.

AM: And it’s not so big that you would drown in the scene.

MD: You’re not all from Montreal, you come from diverse music scenes. I would imagine you had different experiences growing up. How do you think that’s influenced your music taste, if at all?

[Y]ou should just try and do everything. Learn how to write effectively, play your instrument, learn how everything works, but also [work on] arts and aesthetic. […] Make yourself as useful as possible.

AM:  I had a friend or two [who were] into good music, and we grew together divorced from any scene or any cultural influences, whereas for these guys I feel like [they] were more [influenced] by trends.

AP: I think just coming from a place that supports music is really important.

MD: Tell me about your introduction to music. What was the first album you bought and do you still listen to it?

AM: I think mine was […] Westlife.

TG: I remember receiving Now! 50 for Christmas one year.

AP: I feel like I got tape cassettes before anything else. I think I had Baha Men’s Who Let the Dogs Out.

CS: Mine was the first Busted album with “Year 3000” on it.

MD: Lastly, what piece of advice would you give to a young musician?

AM: I would just say listen to as much […] music as you can.

TG: Putting your money where your mouth is and actually writing as much as you can, nonstop.

AP: Practice every day. Once you get bored with what you’re doing, just try something new.

CS: I’m gonna go against all of you and say that none of that is important, you should just try and do everything. Learn how to write effectively, play your instrument, learn how everything works, but also [work on] arts and aesthetic. […] Make yourself as useful as possible.

TG: Or meet someone who’s willing to do as much as that.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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