Like Yussou N'Dour, Montreal artist Peter Flemming is shaking the tree in his kinetic art piece "Reject". Unlike N'Dour, Flemming's work "emphasizes the absurdity of the life cycle of an Xmas tree".

I think for many people who grew up enjoying Christmas, there's nothing quite as depressing as seeing a discarded pine or spruce tree, dying in a dirty January snow bank. The last sad shreds of tinsel clinging to the branches while reddened, dried needles pile below are all reminders of a post-holiday consumer hangover. It's been said the best way to avoid a hangover is to never sober up. Maybe instead, before the Christmas ads go into hyperdrive in a wild thrashing attempt to save our economy (like a drowning man), we could have a pre-holiday hangover. At the very least it will gird us against the painful crash to come.

With that in mind, it's only fitting that this piece which underscores our throw-away consumerism is being exhibited this November, merely weeks after the collapse of our credit-driven markets, and weeks before our annual orgy of spending.

Exhibition Details:
Harbourfront Centre,
235 Queens Quay West.

November 15 2008 to January 4 2009.

Labels: art, media, Montreal, technology