An A/r/tographical Inquiry of a Silenced First Nation Ancestry, Hauntology, G(hosts) and Art(works): An Exhibition Catalogue

• Main Author: Cloutier, Geneviève
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa 2014
• Subjects: Arts-based research; Ar/tography; Hauntology; Liminality; Silenced narratives; Movement; Maliseet; Wolastoqiyik
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-6683; http://www.ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/31797

As a hauntological artist, I deconstruct my silenced First Nation Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) ancestry as I look towards the intergenerational narratives of my grandmother, mother, and I. As I employ the methodology of a/r/tography, the intersection of autobiography and art-making, I utilize diverse art forms to find that g(hosts) reside amongst spaces of liminality. Supported by the methodology of a/r/tography, as I draw on works which blur the boundary between past and present, self and other, I deconstruct the silencing of my First Nation lineage by creating three art(works). These art(works) are placed within an exhibition catalogue and inquire into 1) the specters that loom between the evocative objects of our narratives, 2) how script-writing and the script’s performance can reveal g(hosts) in spaces of liminality, and 3) how sculptures facilitate spectral movement. Each individual art(work) plays a role in breaking the silence. A(wake), specters arise.