Brendan Fernandes in Residence

Description:

Western Front hosted Brendan Fernandes for a six-week production residency in which he developed The Working Move—a two-part project consisting of a live performance and a photographic installation informed by the histories of avant-garde dance and its relationship to visual art.

Fernandes worked with Vancouver-based choreographer Justine A. Chambers to develop a series of ballet-inspired movement vocabularies related to labour and endurance. These were performed by dancers Cody Cox, Carolynn Fisher, Zoe Nichele, Diego Romero, and Sophia Wolfe, with piano accompanist Zabelita Fraser.

The live performance was presented alongside a series of black-and-white photographs by Fernandes featuring the dancers of The Working Move that were installed throughout the second floor of Western Front.

Fernandes's residency was presented with support from EDAM (Experimental Dance and Music) Dance, The Deux Mille Foundation, and the Hamber Foundation; with special thanks to Access Gallery, 221a, Centre A, and Arts Umbrella.