Transcending materials and perverting objects: art as playing field for BGL

Selected to represent Canada at the 56th Venice Biennale (2015), the BGL collective — a designation formed of the initials of the three members’ last names (Jasmin Bilodeau, Sébastien Giguère and Nicolas Laverdière) — has been making provocative, disconcerting and materially demanding works since the mid 1990s. Their Italian project is based on a complete reconfiguration of the Canadian Pavilion, just as Gregor Schneider and Mike Nelson were able to do for the German Pavilion in 2001 and the British Pavilion in 2011 respectively, although taking totally different approaches. In an interview that intersects a closer reading (Marie Fraser) with a more general perspective (Thierry Davila) of their practice and their Venetian installation, Canadassimo, BGL offers some leads for better understanding this “playing field,” which they call the space in which art develops today.

Thierry Davila : You have chosen to work as a trio in a country where a significant number of artist collectives (Group of Seven, N.E. Thing Co., General Idea) have already made a lasting impression on history. In 2009, you in fact paid homage to the oldest one with Meatballs. Tribute to the Group of Seven. Have these predecessors influenced your work? How do you deal with this history?