Kent Monkman, Mary, 2011. Image tirée de la vidéo / Video still. Galerie Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery

Kent Monkman and Miss Chief Eagle Testickle (his "public persona" -- is facebook ever wrong?) are not new to Montreal. I will always remember his Dance of the Berdash as being by far the best thing in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in 2009. My Treaty Is With the Crown is more extensive, and, if possible, even more political than Dance of the Berdash.

Kent Monkman, Mary, 2011. Image tirée de la vidéo / Video still. Galerie Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery

Monkman delves into territory that is, to say the least, a bit sensitive for Québec. Many of the works in the installation are centered around the decisive battle of the Seven Years War -- you know, the one on the Plains of Abraham (where the English army defeted the French). But Miss Chief, diva and trickster, throws a new spin on this heavy historical happening by seducing the two generals (Wolfe and Montcalm) and cuting their hair (there's always Wikipedia for more info on why you should not let your significant other cut your locks while you're sleeping).

I'm not entirely convinced that any one individual can rewrite history, but Monkman is coming pretty close. History being pretty depressing, I'm all in favour of having it reworked, especially if the new version can do better justice to Aboriginal people. Justice has never looked as sexy as it does with Kent Monkman, so get down to Concordia's Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery and check it out.

For an added dose of playful subversion, I recommend also making your way to the Team Macho exhibition and Optica (opening this Saturday!) as well as Marina Roy's What's pushed out the door some back through the window part 2 (one week left!) at La Centrale.
© Team Macho, Fizzlekitten (detail*), 2008. Image courtesy of the artist
Team Macho is a Toronto-based collective. Working together allows them to exchange, subvert and augment each other's ideas, avoiding the ego-driven lonely mania of the solo artist. It also seems to have made them really good at drawing cute cats!
from Apartment: image courtesy Marina Roy

La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse, has a stellar history of presenting great animations. Marina Roy's show is no exception; it includes the 56 minute animation Apartment. Inspired by Georges Perec's 1978 novel La vie, it guides us through room after room of a massive apartment building, mapping the moves of a night in a game of chess.