Image credit: Still from “Moonstruck” Francois Roux, 2012

The penetrating darkness of a quiet city park is the subject of rumination in Francois Roux’s Moonstruck.  While produced during a residency in France, the video work/installation certainly resonates with wanderers of this city.

Anyone who has taken a walk after sun down in Vancouver, especially through any one of its park lands, will know how pervasive the night really is. The night in this city is not entirely urban, and yet, the light also differs from the countryside as there you can at least see the stars. The darkness in this city, as it is in the video, is broken only by the sparse illumination of manufactured light. Street lamps become one’s navigational stars — and here is Roux’s fascination and play.

There is a play between being drawn to the light and hiding from it too. The presence of lamp posts are very literally at the centre of experiencing Moonstruck. Their formal similarity to tree trunks is not lost, but it is also not exaggerated. An element of voyeurism is hinted as your eyes strain and search, but the intimacy of the space diffuses the lurking sensation, especially if more than one person is present.

More to be seen from Roux as grunt Media Lab presents H20 Cycle, a new series of video works made in and around the English Bay area. As Roux came to Vancouver on an internship through grunt, the cyclical element will be present in more than one way for this emerging artist.

Francois Roux’s Moonstruck runs until March 18, 2012 at CSA Space. Click through for more information.

H20 runs March 16 - 31 at grunt gallery. Opening reception on the 16 from 7 - 11pm