We have been collaborating since 2018 on projects that explore the relationships between territory, memory, and photography. Our most recent research-creation project is rooted in Murdochville, a former mining town founded around copper extraction, located on the unceded Mi’gmaq territory of Gespe’gewa’gi. We are both from this region, whose history is deeply intertwined with resource extraction.

Rick Miller has a particularly meaningful connection to this place: his grandfather, Alfred Miller, was the prospector who discovered copper there in 1909. At a time when mining operations are once again being considered, our project unfolds through archival research, the re-photography of landscapes, meetings with community members, portrait-making, and the collection of oral histories. Ongoing drilling activities are fueling a reflection on the points of convergence between photographic gestures and mining practices. How can images be created without reproducing an extractive gesture?

Our residency at L’imprimerie is part of this ongoing inquiry. During this time, we will continue developing the multimedia installation Creuser la communauté, a first prototype of which was created at Espaces F (Matane) last January. The stories collected in Murdochville take the form of an artwork that brings together photographs, voices, and video mapping. Among other objectives, we hope to replace photographic prints with copper photogravures. We will also use this residency to explore the printing of mining landscapes using natural pigments derived from copper, such as malachite and azurite.

L’imprimerie’s environmentally sensitive approach and its research initiatives resonate deeply with our practice. Our work during the residency will also be enriched through mentorship and support from artist Mélanie Saumure.

See exhibition Reprendre et déposer at Espaces F