Orientity MTL 2007

This exhibition will introduce works of artists who have Korean ancestors and are active artists around the world.

The Orientity exhibition is paradoxical in that the European artists Adel KSK, Jane Jin Kaisen, kimura byol-nathalie lemoine are Asian in appearance, but their upbringing does not reflect their said culture. Though their art they attempt – as adult- to recall and reconstruct a “whitened” and erased identity. Considering their evasive and practically non-existent cultural heritage, personal creativity becomes crucial in the definition of their evolving identities.

Orientity is composed in three phases:

• First, a collaborative piece develop amongst three artists will be displayed: photos of the artists as adults in which we see their adoption numbers, embassies and adoption agencies involved. Simultaneously, other personal pictures of each artist taken in Montreal will be exhibited.
• Secondly,  local artists will be invited to participate in the 24 hour project.
• Finally, a program produced by the artists and filmmakers Adoptité will be screened on Saturday 26th. It will be followed by a round table dicussion in which the themes of filmmaking, identity and adoption through the european point of view (a continent that has experienced an adoption boom in the 70s, 80s and 90s) will take place.

This discussion aims to sensitize the local public to this recently very mediatized occurence.

In general, the private Asian Diaspora is known for their discrete and silent nature. Despite not growing up in these socio-cultural origins, adopted Asian children growing up in Caucasian families have gained new social norms allowing them to express their opinions openly in exchange of the loss of their cultural identity.