MOCCA 2.0

In exciting museum news of the month, MOCCA will be relocating it's premises to a much larger location on Sterling. Its destination promises a much larger space which will be fantastic for hosting more large and ambitious exhibitions (although they have done quite well with that already). More info here on the relocation. Sadly this also means no MOCCA for the next couple of years. For the final exhibition at its current location the museum has been transformed into a cabin and an enclosed dryland harbour where rests a listing boat filled to the brim with memorabilia and other..stuff.
Q.W.Y.C. (Queen West Yacht Club) turns MOCCA into a space where visitors can mingle in the cabin or gather around the boat for a shared glimpse of the artist's hoarding habit.
What I like about this set up is the invitation in the conglomeration of stuff that fills each constructed space. It feels right to pick up the old Hardy Boy's mystery books stacked haphazardly on the shelf and muse about how I read every one I could get my hands on when I was a kid, or to trace the path around the map of PEI and wonder whether I could go back there.. It is a refreshing change to the usual sterile museum space that separates object from viewer. This exhibition encourages immersion within the space and dismantles the sacred bubble surrounding most artifacts in museums.
Baldwin creates an immersive space not only of discovery but of memory. Many items within the boat call to mind childhood adventures exploring my attic or running wild in the fields. When I stick my head inside for a closer look, the smell of old leather, books and wood creeps into my nostrils, transporting me immediately to my youth.

Also showing is Elmgreen & Dragset's screenplay Drama Queens which features several different sculptures removed from museum or gallery setting and put on stage. As the pieces interact and discuss art, the universe and everything, how we view and interact with art is put under the spotlight.