WESTERN FRONT – Passports of Love

Description:

Andrew James Paterson's performance Passports of Love unfolds in the intimate, sorrowful space of a heartbroken man’s apartment, left in the wake of a failed relationship.

The performance unfolds on a domestic set in the Grand Luxe Hall built to depict the protagonist's apartment, which is subtly adorned with symbols of love and travel—a bedside globe, pink carnations on a vanity, and a woman's mask in a wedding veil suspended from the ceiling. A monologue narrates the details of an obsessive relationship and alternates between flashbacks of the failed union and the present-day hysteria of love, while a guitar soundtrack by Paterson adds an additional layer of emotional intensity.

Video documentation is available upon request.

Seen in black and white, Andrew Paterson is dressed in a black suit and holds a vase of flowers above their head. Hanging on top is a plastic mask with a veil falling from its scalp. The performance is spotlit, creating a piercing shadow of the mask’s eyes.

Seen in black and white, Andrew Paterson sits on the edge of a bed, dressed in a black suit, speaking. To his right sits an alarm clock on top of a lace-covered side table, and to his left sits a globe.

Seen in black and white, Andrew Paterson sits in front of a table, on which stand two vases with flowers and a mirror in the middle. In the background, a plastic mask with a veil hanging from its scalp hangs from the ceiling. The mask is spotlit, its shadow. creating a piercing stare against the white background.

Seen in black and white, Andrew Paterson walks up a few sheet-covered stairs that lead to nowhere. Dressed in a white collared shirt, suspenders, dress pants, and Oxford shoes, he holds up a tied necktie. In the foreground, sits an alarm clock on a side table and a bedframe.

Seen in black and white, Andrew Paterson is dressed in formal wear as he crosses the stage holding a tied necktie. In the background hangs a spotlit plastic mask with a veil falling from its scalp, its shadow creating a piercing gaze against the white wall. Domestic elements can be found throughout the stage, including a bed, a side table with an alarm clock, a briefcase, a table with a mirror and a vase. Several steps leading to nowhere are seen behind the bed.

Captions:

Andrew James Paterson, Passports of Love (1984), photo documentation, Dec 7, 1984.
Andrew James Paterson, Passports of Love (1984), photo documentation, Dec 7, 1984.
Andrew James Paterson, Passports of Love (1984), photo documentation, Dec 7, 1984.
Andrew James Paterson, Passports of Love (1984), photo documentation, Dec 7, 1984.
Andrew James Paterson, Passports of Love (1984), photo documentation, Dec 7, 1984.

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Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.