July, 1953 — naakita f.k.

“July, 1953” is the culmination of months spent working with thousands of telegrams found in the Matapedia, QC train station attic. Created through archival, historic and community research, this exhibition engages sound, video and text to consider the area’s long history as a resource tourism destination for the wealthy elite. Using the lens of haunting as a form of annotation, “July, 1953” explores how the visitors and events of one summer passed have come to impact our contemporary social, political and environmental contexts.

In tracing the characters within the telegram correspondences, their ripple effects were found to be far reaching. “July, 1953” reminds us that pasts have different registers. Some are selected to be spoken loudly, over and over again, but there are others that you might need to strain to hear. Their pitch is not about their potency or value, but about the power of choice and dismissal. This exhibition is the result of my own process of attunement to this site, of being surrounded by ghosts, listening to their voices, and through that practice, receiving more teachings than I could responsibly share. Their stories are reminders that pasts haunt the presents we know and the futures we have not yet met.

Voiceover by Degane Sougal and Devon Hansen, Sound design by Yoon Rachel Nam, Text editing by Lindsay Leblanc, Translation by Roxa Hal

Installation images by Danie Chabot.

Research and creation for “July, 1953.” was supported by my residency at Gare Matapedia, a historic train station turned community and artistic hub developed in partnership between Quartier Éphémère and Vaste et Vague.