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Opening Reception: April 3 | 6-9 pm
Exhibition: April 4-12, Tuesday to Saturday 12-6 pm
Artist Talk: April 5 | 2 pm
EMDR is a surreal and cinematic four-channel immersive film installation synced to an experimental, quadrophonic electronic composition. It is a representation of a personal recovery journey through mental health struggles brought on by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, managed effectively through a method of therapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
One half of our artist duo is Trevor Jacobson. When he was 14 years old, he was hit by a truck and suffered serious, life-threatening injuries (a head injury, two broken femur bones, a ruptured spleen, and stitches to his liver). Because of the head injury, subsequent court case and a challenging recovery, Trevor has dealt with the side effects from having PTSD as a young person throughout his life. He is now in his 40s and for the past few years has been treated using EMDR therapy – and it has changed his life.
In our project we explore the various mental spaces that Trevor experiences when living with PTSD and while undergoing this treatment: the emotions that he feels (anxiety, loneliness, anger, awkwardness, relief, joy), the memories that he experiences, and the mental spaces that he visits.
Photo Credit: [Still Shot] EMDR, The Automatic Message
VIVO is located in the homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples in a warehouse space at 2625 Kaslo Street south of East Broadway at the end of E 10th. Transit line 9 stops at Kaslo Street on Broadway. From the bus stop, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight decline. The closest skytrain station is Renfrew Station, which is three blocks south-east of VIVO and has an elevator. From there, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight incline. There is parking available at VIVO, including wheelchair access parking. There is a bike rack at the entrance. The front entrance leads indoors to a set of 7 stairs to the lobby.
A wheelchair ramp is located at the west side of the main entrance. The ramp has two runs: the first run is 20 feet long, and the second run is 26 feet. The ramp is 60 inches wide. The slope is 1:12. The ramp itself is concrete and has handrails on both sides. There is an outward swinging door (34 inch width) at the top of the ramp leading to a vestibule. A second outward swinging door (33 inch width) opens into the exhibition space. Buzzers and intercoms are located at both doors to notify staff during regular office hours or events to unlock the doors. Once unlocked, visitors can use automatic operators to open the doors.
There are two all-gender washrooms. One has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The other is a single room with a urinal and is wheelchair accessible: the door is 33 inches wide and inward swinging, without automation. The toilet has 11 inch clearance on the left side and a handrail.
To reach the bathrooms from the studio, exit through the double doors and proceed straight through the lobby and down the hall . Turn left, and the two bathrooms will be on your right side. The closest one has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The far bathroom is accessible.
Vancouver, Canada-based Trevor Jacobson and Tanya Goehring are The Automatic Message. They are an artist duo working in the fields of expanded and live cinema, as well as photography, new media and electronic music production. Since forming The Automatic Message in 2006, Trevor and Tanya have been producing dark, off-kilter techno and supporting it with their own visual interpretations, which, in line with their music, creates a tremendous sense of unease and tension. They create surreal, emotional and immersive experiences by blending cinematic footage and experimental electronic music. Much of their work centers around themes of memory and the displacement thereof. They have been performing their work and collaborating with other artists across Canada, in the USA, Germany and Denmark.
