Les Sabines, a Montr\u00e9al duo of self-declared cultural entrepreneurs, have produced a series of publications in the form of zines that have appeared at a rate of one per year since 2009. These are visual essays heralding big issues under portentous titles tenuously related to their actual content: L\u2019hyper-r\u00e9alisme au temps de Napol\u00e9on, L\u2019existentialisme est un humanisme II, La post-image. Taking advantage of copyright procedures, Les Sabines get their publications indexed in various international, national, and provincial archives, thus building up an aura of legitimacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The often sketchy drawings in the zines are filled with references to the labour attached to a fledgling artist\u2019s career \u2014 preparations for a performance, building a personal website, drafting grant applications, calls for projects, workshops, symposia. With Les Sabines, as in life, these experiences are juxtaposed with those garnered in early jobs and internships in the cultural sphere. The little victories and lucky breaks are interspersed with anxieties, mistakes, doubts. One senses a fatigue, as if completing the work had required too much effort for Les Sabines, who are ambitious procrastinators.
They use derisive humour to broach the pressures of work and of striving for success that are inseparable from artists\u2019 everyday lives. Their zines, millennial self-\u00adfictionalizations, are marked by the language of the web and a certain attitude that emanates from meme culture: ironies, surprising juxtapositions of text and image, appropriations of popular culture, references to current events. They conjure self-promotion and \u201ccareer development,\u201d even as they mock current trends in the marketing of contemporary art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In performances and installations, Les Sabines \u00adpursue reflections on cultural work by calling attention to small and often thankless chores. They exhibit the bulky archival boxes of the Conseil qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois de l\u2019estampe and become volunteer caterers for a conference. They play interns who are in over their heads in a fanzine workshop spat at the Nuit blanche, then use their allotted time at a performance event to clean up the mess left by the preceding acts. By a curious alchemy, Les Sabines transform embarrassment, discomfort, and awkwardness into an opportunity to shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated from the French by Ron Ross<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n