AGO Live is a dedicated series of performance events designed to reimagine the limits of what art can be within the museum. From marquee presentations to intimate moments and special commissions, the series is intentionally experimental and its formula flexible, highlighting local and international artists' creative journeys in music, dance and visual art.

Serpentine is an installation performance created by Daina Ashbee. The work vibrates the essence of Ashbee’s dark and feminine pieces and is intended as a short and intense summary of her previous three works, Unrelated (2014), When the ice melts, will we drink the water? (2016) and Pour (2016). The research explored the occupation of space/time/attention in what became a cathartic solo for Areli Moran (Mexico) based in repetition and insistence. Ashbee uses simple imagery in order to allow the work to resonate with many viewers. The piece includes original electric organ composition by Jean-Francois Blouin which is both disturbing and powerful. The juxtaposition of the haunting electric organ and the slow, sensual movement that escalates in its violence, is confidently, beautifully and earnestly performed by Areli Moran.

«Sometimes things need to be insisted upon, and I believe repetition is powerful because it insists, because we remember and we absorb. The body is powerful and Serpentine allows one body to speak - to occupy space - and our attention, over and over, insistently revealing the enormous strength of the interpreter» - Daina Ashbee

Daina Ashbee is an artist, performer and choreographer based in Montreal, known for her radical works at the edge of dance and performance, which intelligently approach such complex subjects and taboos as female sexuality, Métis identity, and climate change. Recognized as one of the most promising choreographers of the next generation, she has already won two awards for her choreographies and her work is regularly presented in the most prestigious festivals (The Venice Biennale, Oktoberdans, Les Rencontre Chorégraphiques de Seine Saint Denis, and the Munich Dance Biennale). Daina is the artist-in-residence at Agora de la danse in Montreal until 2020 and the associate artist of Centre de Création O Vertigo - CCOV.

Serpentine is co-presented with Harbourfront Centre