CROSSINGS Seen by Robert Lepage A Tower of Babel, an Anatomy Theatre, curiosity cabinets, an interwoven forest, numbered steles, a calligraphy wall, these symbolic compo-nents are forceful images designed to illustrate that human beings, language, nature, science and technology… everything is crossed! This is the fascinating message of the Crossings exhibition presented at the Musée de la civilisation in Québec, from May 3, 2000 to July 29, 2001, developed from an original idea and concept by creator Robert Lepage. A bold exhibition in both content and form. A truly outstanding production! It was as a privileged witness to the phenomenon of the globalization of cultures that I first embarked on the adventure of producing this exhibition. But, to my astonishment, this theme would take me well beyond cultural considerations and make me understand that the reality of crossings has ramifications right down to the tiniest part of what constitutes our identity. All of these voyages, all of these distantt projects […] that should have removed me even further from my origins, finally had the effect of bringing me back to my, now transformed, but authentic self. And it is precisely this tugging back and forth between the ideas of authenticity and of purity, which is at the heart of this exhibition. Robert Lepage [free translation] Interwoven forest Yvon Bellavance photo : Jacques Lessard CULTURES AND SCIENCES… AT A CROSSROADS Crossings apply as much to cultural as to scientific phenomena. Featuring impressive portrayals in which works of art, objects, iconographic documents and multimedia presentations intermix, the exhibition takes a highly original approach to some important questions at the dawn of the third millennium—cultural identity, racism, transgenesis, heterotransplants… A person of French “extraction” is no more a reality than a true blue, “pure laine” Quebecer, and cloning is a kind of “mixaphobia”, points out Robert Lepage. Other remarks: more than 170 million people live in a country that is not their own. There are 3 000 different languages, not to mention local dialects and regional patois. By using bar codes in all blood banks, it almost impossible for a White person to know if the blood he is receiving comes from a Black donor. Would you agree to receive a pig heart transplant? (heterotransplant)? In short, the exhibition is essentially a reflection on the notion of purity. “SAVE MY SOUL” An idea of impurity is associated with the phenomenon of crossbreeding—moreover in French the etymology of the word “métissage” evokes the idea of being “mal tissé” or the product of “bad weaving or mixing”. The exhibition relativizes the idea that one generally has of purity and tries to show that despite our origins, we are all crossbred. Whether in racial or cultural terms, whether in relation to cloning, transgenesis or heterotrans-planting, crossbreeding poses the question of one’s identity and soul, namely the fear of losing, of debasing, or of denaturing it through contact and mixing with the Other. The exhibition invites visitors to overcome this fear and to explore all the wealth and creative potential offered by crossings, a preferred type of relationship in the 21st century. AN INNER VOYAGE The exhibition’s presentation is more impressionistic than didactic. It extends an invita-tion to embark on an inner voyage; the visitor finds his own way through the exhibition and is confronted by the idea of being a crossbreed himself. The exhibition’s two main themes are personified by two gigantic structures: the Tower of Babel and the Anatomy Theatre. The Tower of Babel poses the question of the glob-alization of cultures and societies. Eleven alcoves present powerful images, from the breaking up of the universe to the fusion of heavenly bodies, from the separation from the initial androgyne to the reunion of couples. An ascent in the form of a spiral leads to a nuptial room, a symbol of amorous fusion, of the coming together of the two sexes. The Anatomy Theatre, harking back to the first dissection rooms, proposes an explora-tion into the heart of our body, in search of the seat of the soul. Through animated debates, visitors are faced with conflicting ideas in a multimedia environment. Presided over by Robert Lepage himself, several important issues in the third millennium (transgenesis, heterotransplants) are dissected in an ingenious multimedia environment. Two curiosity cabinets and a “tissé”, or interwoven, forest encircle these two installa-tions. Curiosity Curiosity cabinets Claudie Gagnon photo : Jacques Lessard Cabinets, referring to associations of strange and ill-assorted objects, were created by artist Claudie Gagnon who drew inspiration from the main themes ex-plored in the exhibition. The Interwoven Forest (La fôret tissée), by scenic artist Ivon Bellavance, represents the twists and turns of the unconscious in which our thoughts are organized. Each concept we evoke is subtly tied to a complex network of associations of ideas, like the roots of a tree. The Numbered Steles (engraved with mathematical inscriptions), a Mirror (a symbolic and paradoxical object that divides and reunites, a perfect symmetry between the visible world and the reflection of the visible world), a Calligraphy Wall (evocation of the exchange of ideas between languages all over the world) complete the exhibition’s archi-tecture. ONE IDEA, SEVERAL IMAGES The use of images characterizes both the artistic approach of the actor, stage director and producer, Robert Lepage… and that of the exhibition. Striking images, images that structure the message. The public enters and circulates inside a large installation created by artists, where forceful portrayals, strange objects, photographs, and audio-visual and multimedia presentations add a special dimension to the subject of the exhibition. In addition to the Ex Machina production house, artists Claudie Gagnon (visual arts) and Ivon Bellavance (textile art) as well as architects Annie Lebel, Geneviève L’Heureux and Stéphane Pratte from the Atelier in situ contributed their works to the exhibition. Crossings, a truly outstanding exhibition! At the Musée de la civilisation in Québec from May 3, 2000 to July 29, 2001. The exhibition receives promotional support from Télé-Québec. Information: Serge Poulin, (418) 643-2158 Public Relations and Communications Issued: May 2, 2000. © Musée de la civilisation