ICYMI: Montrealers have been putting up rainbows in their windows for over a month now in a huge sign of solidarity across their city to remind us that ça va bien aller, or “everything will be OK." Better yet, if you were scrolling through Instagram for the shots of the #cavabienaller movement, maybe you spotted photos and videos of a human rainbow walking the streets of Montreal. This rainbow's been spotted bringing toilet paper home...
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...taking out the trash...
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...walking its dog...
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...or poignantly standing in the street with a map of the stars and looking up, like it's wondering how to get back into the sky:
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Published on the account @arcencielbalade, it's a project of two Montreal artists—actress and performance artist Gabrielle Poulin and sound and video designer Antonin Gougeon—who took a challenge called NICE TRY (belessai) from Usine C, a multidisciplinary art gallery in Montreal. The goal? To create a performance, theatrical or musical piece in 48 hours.
Inspired by the #cavabienaller rainbow movement in their city, this is the final result: Something that walks the line between absolutely heartbreaking with its way-down-tempo version of Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles, and wonderfully uplifting in its absurdity and spirit:
"We slowed down the pace, slowed down the song in a slowed down city," Antonin Gougeon wrote to us in a safely and socially-distanced interview. "We want to spread the love this way, because we believe viral content is an amazing way to reach people quickly and in their home, which is particularly useful in a quarantine context." Created with 30 friends who helped with the costume construction, "viral" camera footage and photography, the last walk took place on April 4th with no plans on resuming the project out of respect for social distancing in Montreal.
Still, it's nice to revisit the account from time to time. It definitely achieves its intended purpose: "We wanted to take all of these rainbows for a walk, to brighten people’s days and use performance art as a tool to create happiness and wonder," Gougeon told Time Out Montreal. "We think that performance and web art are amazing art forms to reach give smiles to as many people as possible."
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