International Journal of Education & the Arts

Citation: Cloutier, G. (2016). An a/r/tographic inquiry of a silenced First Nation ancestry, hauntology, g(hosts) and art(works): An exhibition catalogue. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 17(30). Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v17n30/.

As a hauntological artist, I deconstruct my silenced First Nation Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) ancestry and look towards the intergenerational narratives of my grandmother, mother, and I. Employing 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 and drawing upon 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 ghosts 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.