ION art gallery, Singapore

ION art gallery

M1 FRINGE FESTIVAL PRESENTS RICHOCHET BY CHRISTOPHE CANATO (AUSTRALIA | FRANCE)

13 – 24 January 2016, L4 ION Art Gallery

Christophe Canato’s rich photographs of  darkly lit portraits and still life trigger memories of one’s childhood. In  this  emotional  space  between  affection  and fascination, animals are featured and mimed. Each  evocative  piece  brimming  with  a  sense  of mystery delves into the psyche of childhood and looks  at  the  imagination  held  only  within  the  mind of the child. In reference  to  wildness  and  nature,  the  series  of  haunting  photographs  and  videos  in Ricochet will bring us back to our instincts and memories.

“It is not just that the boyhood imagination is inventive, it is also collective. Ideas  are  shared,  actions mimicked,  styles  adopted  and  tales  believed. The period  before  puberty  is  one  in  which  we  first  discern  the  expectations  the world has of us. Having left the close embrace of the maternal to explore the nature of being an individual, the child discovers demands are being made, ambitions  set... There  is  tension  between  a  desire to  conform  and the  urge
to discover what might be possible." — Alasdair Foster, Cultural Development Consulting

French-Australian  visual  artist  Christophe  Canato  has  been  living  and  working  in  Perth, Western Australia since 2005. After receiving his DNSEP in 1989 (comparable to a Master in Fine Arts) and a Diploma  of  Fashion  from  the  prestigious  Institut  Français  de  la  Mode  (French  Fashion  Institute)  in 1993, Canato has continued to draw on his background in the Paris Fashion industry.