Lisa Giroday [proprietor of the L.E.S. Gallery] came up with the idea of manipulating the German word doppelgänger to express the segregation and isolation that the Vancouver cultural scene can manifest. We proceeded to relate our favorite local artists with likeminded international artists. Lisa Giroday, Mike Swaney and I [the curators of the Bilocation Series] want to illustrate that through the connection of analogous international artists, what is happening in Vancouver is significant and relative to the global arts scene. Given the sinister implications of the term "doppelganger", we found the term bilocation to be a more appropriate word for our concept.
Bilocation is a less ominous term, slightly different in nature but similar to the notion of the 'doppelganger'; it is the ostensibly supernatural act of appearing or being in two or more locations simultaneously. One of our curatorial objectives is to unpack the notion of 'doppelganger', as we realize the negative connotations encompassing the folklore of the term and the inherent irony of us, 1. Attempting the task of pairing artistic doubles, and 2. Initiating communication between 'doppelgangers'—it is commonly considered unwise to communicate with a doppelganger, and to see one's own is a bad omen. Our subversion and re-contextualization of these meanings is playful, inspiring the idea of a global network of idiosyncratic 'doubles'. Instead of 'doppelganger' or 'bilocation' evoking inauspicious suppositions, we explore the concept as a catalyst with the intent to expand a network of artists and establish, as implied earlier, a more developed sense of global community.
 
The Bilocation Series is a process of further investigating identity for all individuals and places concerned. A central result of our artist pairing in this series is that it acts as a symposium, as a point of connection, as a cultural exchange, most simply and essentially thriving from both disparate elements and parallel ones.
If bilocation is seen in some instances as being related to the psyche, we wish to utilize the L.E.S. Gallery's location as a theoretical form of consciousness for these 'doubles'.
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 The Bilocation Series consists of three separate themes exhibited consecutively over six weeks. We have paired, within each theme, one international artist and one local artist.

The series has been categorized as follows:  
 
 
Part I: MIXED MEDIA
 
Joseph Hart, Mark Delong
 
April 12 – 28
 
 
Part II: DRAWING
 
Manuel Olias, James Whitman
 
May 3 – 17
 
 
Part III: INSTALLATION
 
Gregory & Cyril Chapuisat, Chad Oakenfold
 
May 24 – June 14
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 Artist Links:
 
Joseph Hart (New York)
www.jhartillustration.com
 
Mark Delong (Vancouver, Canada)
www.bambi.org.UK
 
Manuel Olias (Spain)
www.manuelolias.es
 
James Whitman (Vancouver, Canada)
www.lionspile.ca
 
Chapuisat brothers (Switzerland)
www.mentary.com/chapuisat
 
Chad Oakenfold (Vancouver, Canada)
www.oakenfold.ca