Art Metropole

#11212

Body Transformation Towers Postcard Set

Date

1996

Format

Multiples

Details

Paper

Size

16 × 10 × 0.4 cm

Length

13 pages

Artist multiple, set of 13 full-colour postcards with English text on verso, packaged in a custom-printed folded envelope. Edition of 100.

Body Transmission Towers began during my residency at Struts & Faucet. Driving into Sackville from Nova Scotia on the first day of the residency, I immediately felt the loss of the Radio Canada International shortwave towers. I had become accustomed to them as an anchoring feature signalling arrival into Sackville. The towers were removed in March 2014, after 67 years of service. I was struck by how their memory was visual yet also felt – a way of orienting the body in relation to space. I thought of the body as its own transmission site, where emotion and memory are projected outwards, always holding us in subjective relation to a space. In this case, I thought of thirteen bodies acting as their own transmission vessels. The body trasmitting memory back to the RCI site. I ran ads asking for people to drive (or walk) with me to their most remembered spot for viewing the RCI towers. Quickly, I had many volunteers. Some had worked at RCI Sackville, others had lived around the area for much, or all, of their lives. I enjoyed the drives and conversations with all those who participated. Thank you. Many thanks to the fine folks (Amanda, Elliott, Cynthia) at Struts & Faucet and the good people of Sackville. -Sheilah Wilson, 2014