Shirley Bruno, Aleesa Cohene, Caroline Monnet, Cauleen Smith | Codes of Silence

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Cauleen Smith, "Black and Blue Over You (After Bas Jan Ader for Ishan)," 2010

video still, film transferred to digital video, color, sound. Courtesy of the Artist and Morán Morán.

Within the public arena, the voice is necessarily considered an important social and cultural vehicle for the expression of untold stories, collective identities, and political causes. In contrast, the idea of the elimination of the voice is typically associated, for example, with acts of censorship or the suppression of marginalized oral histories. With a focus on video, Codes of Silence radically overturns this illusory binary with artworks where the voice is muted, obscured, withheld or unexplained in ways that cultivate quietness, interiority, intimacy, and community.

In her poetic retelling of a popular Haitian legend, Shirley Bruno’s Tezen portrays the daily rhythms of a rural family while teasing out elements of a young woman’s coming of age. Aleesa Cohene’s Kathy is a haunting montage of character actor Kathy Bates’s performances, depicting the reductive roles often offered to women and queer people. Caroline Monnet’s Creatura Dada imagines a lavish feast held in honour of renowned filmmaker and activist Alanis Obomsawin, as she is fêted by the next generation of Indigenous women artists. Cauleen Smith’s meditative video Black and Blue Over You (After Bas Jan Ader for Ishan) shows the artist improvising a number of floral arrangements using only black, white, and blue tones — the colours of bruising — in remembrance of the tragic death of a loved one. 

“Codes of Silence asks what kinds of creative expression can take place when the voice does not have to shout in the streets or have to fight back,” says Chan. “These artists are making videos that represent subtle modes of communication beyond public protest and dissent. Yet, they are incredibly powerful and perhaps represent a different, equally important kind of resistance. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to share these stunning works by such an amazing roster of artists at the Richmond Art Gallery.”