It Looks Nice from a Distance

TRUCK Contemporary Art presents It Looks Nice from a Distance, a solo exhibition by Anahita Norouzi (Montreal, QC). It Looks Nice from a Distance takes the form of a twelve-channel video installation (presented on television monitors), incorporating text, sound, video, and sculpture. It explores the themes of otherness and displacement by paralleling the notions of migration and tourism, shedding light on the gap between these two realities.

The video in the background shows images of “the influx of border crossings” recorded in 2016 by the artist after “more than 700,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean”. Superimposed on these videos are live streaming of surveillance footage from deserted beaches in Europe–located on the Mediterranean migration routes–following the closure of borders linked to the health crisis due to the pandemic.

Here, through a meditative exercise, she invites the viewers to reflect on the different experiences of border, belonging, and otherness in order to recontextualize the notion of displacement at the present time.

Opening Reception: Friday, March 24, 2023 from 7:00PM – 11:00PM

Exhibition: March 24 – May 6, 2023 at TRUCK Contemporary Art (2009 10 Ave SW)

Anahita Norouzi is a multidisciplinary artist, originally from Tehran and active in Montreal since 2018. She holds advanced degrees in Fine Arts and Graphic Design from Concordia University in Montreal. For the past 4 years, she has been traveling often between Iran and Canada to conduct her research which lies at the intersection of colonial histories, experiences of immigration and displacement, and the issue of identity and memory.

TRUCK Contemporary Art is a non-profit artist-run centre dedicated to the development and public presentation of contemporary art.

TRUCK gratefully acknowledges the support of our members, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and Calgary Arts Development. This exhibition is made possible thanks to support from Shelf Life Books, and Cloverdale Paint.