WHO IS JOÃO LOUREIRO

 WHO IS JOÃO LOUREIRO — AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS SIGN?

I've been researching the Vancouver Biennale's Vancouver Novel after encountering this sign while riding my bike along Point Grey Road.

I have questions.

The Biennale identifies the artist as João Loureiro, a Brazilian artist born in 1972, and says the installation cycles through 29 sentences — including six new sentences added in 2021.

Okay.

But where is the information about him?

Where is his official website?

Where is his direct artist contact?

Who is responsible for the wording currently appearing on this sign?

And most importantly:

Did João Loureiro actually approve the words that are currently being displayed?

Because I am seeing messages such as:

“He hides pills.”
“She is begging again.”
“They can see you.”

I find this deeply disturbing.

I went out for a bike ride because I wanted some peace, fresh air and beauty. Instead, I'm confronted with dark, personal and disturbing statements.

And I'm not just asking this as an art critic.

I'm asking as a member of the public who has to encounter this work in a public space.

The Biennale says the work is about the boundary between public and private life and our appetite for constant information. The original catalogue describes 25 statements; the current website says 29, with six added in 2021.

So what changed?

Who added the six?

Who approved them?

And who decides what this sign says today?

Vancouver is experiencing an overdose crisis. People are grieving children, parents, partners and friends. People in recovery are riding these paths. Unhoused people are riding these paths. Teenagers are riding these paths.

You don't know what someone has lived through before they encounter those words.

That is why I'm asking the Vancouver Biennale:

PLEASE TELL US WHO JOÃO LOUREIRO IS.

Give us the artist's official information.

Tell us where people can learn about him.

Tell us who is responsible for the current text.

Tell us whether the current wording is his original work or whether it has been altered since the original installation.

And tell us why this particular content belongs on a public bike route.

I'm not afraid of art.

I'm not afraid of uncomfortable conversations.

But I believe public art comes with public responsibility.

And if we're going to put words into public space where thousands of people encounter them without choosing to enter a gallery, then we should be able to ask questions about those words.

That's not censorship.

That's the public asking questions about public art.

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