Doppelgängers³

This free screening is presented by MICA | Montreal Institute of Contemporary Art as part of the public program for the exhibition An Assembly for the Cosmos. The screening will be followed by a discussion with artist Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian. Seating is limited; first come, first served.

The Armenian-Algerian artist Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian takes us on a journey alongside her doubles, Myriam and Lucia, urging us to defy structures of power, reject planetary exploitation, and imagine diasporic, queer ecofeminist futures.

Doppelgängers³ draws on the experience of diasporas to challenge the commercialisation of the moon. Throw away all common sense and tap into your madness as you follow Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian ⎯ a London-based artist and educator of Armenian and Algerian descent ⎯ on a fascinating journey to build a new civilization on the moon. Along with her doppelgängers, Myriam and Lucia, Nelly challenges us to defy power structures and reject planetary exploitation by letting go of the constraints of borders, gender, and religion to embrace what diversity could be in the vast landscape of our imaginations.

Prior to their mission, Nelly and her parallel version of self speak with a wide-ranging collection of experts. There’s an LGBTQ+ rights activist, an astronomer, a political scientist, an archaeologist who also makes wine, a theoretical physicist, an environmental designer, a horror filmmaker, and a mathematical economist. They are all crucial to their quest to uncover the key to a queer, eco-feminist future devoid of generational trauma, colonization, and imperialism. However, as the analog space mission takes unexpected turns, the future remains as uncertain as the condition of Schrödinger’s Cat.