A City is Born (In the Shadow of Nuclear Colonialism)
Two Channel Video. 9 minutes 22 seconds. Looping.
Two Channel Video. 9 minutes 22 seconds. Looping.
A two channel video piece investigating the meeting points of colonial industrialism, propaganda, government intervention, and the lasting legacy of nuclearism in the context of settler Canada.
Channel A: An archival propaganda documentary about the history of Elliot Lake produced by the Province of Ontario (Date Unknown, 1950-1960) to celebrate the province's contributions in the global uranium rush and nuclear arms race. The documentary ignores the health risks of uranium mining, and the cultural and environmental impacts affecting Serpent River First Nation. The artist incrementally disrupts the documentary by imposing the degradative effects of radiation on film upon the footage, as well as interrupts its narration with audio from geiger counter measurements. The film slowly degrades until it is overtaken by its own consequences.
Channel B: Video performance (2025) of the artist and his maternal grandfather returning to investigate the site of uranium discovery in Elliot Lake, exploring the radioactive legacy of the town where his grandfather was exposed to radiation working in discovery diamond drilling. Dawning geiger counters and clipboards, the two revisit the site, and in doing so confront the inter-generational traumas of radiation, grappling with the idea of home in the face of poisoned land. Combined with narration, the artist and his grandfather provide a counter-narrative to government and private remediators, who have historically under-represented the dangers of radioactivity on workers, community members, and the land.
Film Stills:
