This novel was published on the occasion of the exhibition, André Martin: *Darlinghurst Heroes* at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, December 12, 1998 – January 30, 1999. The publication contains a foreword by Denis Lessard.

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André Martin1.jpg

Darlinghurst Heroes

André Martin

The Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by Montreal artist André Martin. Martin has exhibited widely in Quebec and France. He has recently opened an exhibition at the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris where he participated in the *Mois de la Photo*. This is his first solo exhibition in Vancouver.

André Martin is both a photographer and novelist. The photographic installation *Darlinghurst Heroes* includes large-scale photographic diptychs, sculptural elements and text. Based on an award winning novel of the same title and authored by the artist, the exhibition is a poetic interpretation of a trip to Australia to research photography and to visit a doctor who works with people living with AIDS, and with whom the narrator had an affair in Paris. The photographs present enigmatic patterns suggestive of constellations, calligraphy, tattoos, mycosis, or braille. These patterns are in fact displaced sand from burrows made by beach crabs as part of a mating ritual which results in their death. Combined with text in the form of excerpts from a letter and crumpled pages from the novel, this installation explores the ways that desire and vulnerability co-exist, and raises questions regarding the nature of faith.

A close-up view of an installation shows three non-representational black figures on the white panel. A collection of small white lights, projected from the ceiling, form a spiral on the panel.

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06-AndreMartin-1998.jpeg

Four pictures are mounted on the gallery wall. Two of them have identical images, so does another pair. They show abstract figures drawn on sand. Two are silver, and the others are copper-coloured. 

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01-AndreMartin-1998.jpeg

An installation on the white gallery floor consists of a white panel and a projection from the ceiling. A white spiral shape is projected over the panel. The gallery walls are painted in red. 

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02-AndreMartin-1998.jpeg

Six short cylinders are visible in this image. They are made of rusted metal. Viewers can peek at the black and white image at the bottom of each cylinder through the hole on top of each cylinder.  

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03-AndreMartin-1998.jpeg

A face, printed in white and orange-brown, is roughly folded into a shape of a ball. This folded paper is installed in a gallery space. A person’s eye is the most recognizable part of this piece.

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04-AndreMartin-1998.jpeg

Identical images of a man’s face are installed on the gallery wall. In total 88 of those images, printed in orange-brown and closely aligned to each other, resembles a chocolate bar. 

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05-AndreMartin-1998.jpeg

Six artworks are installed on the gallery wall. A collection of metal cylinders and two collections of folded paper are installed in between tall rectangular pictures. All artworks are in brown tones.

André Martin

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