“Symphony of the Stones: activating the metallic pollutants of the urban landscape in an urban art installation practice” presented by Ammar-Khodja
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Architectures – Territories (full papers)
Presentation Title:
- Symphony of the Stones: activating the metallic pollutants of the urban landscape in an urban art installation practice
Presentation Subtheme:
- Symbiotic Organizations
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
In the late 1980s, the Canadian Pacific Railway abandoned a rail yard on the outskirts of Montreal’s Mile End district. Within a few years, the return of animal and plant species encouraged the citizen community to reinvest in this site known as Le Champ des Possibles. Despite community efforts to rehabilitate this wasteland, hydrocarbon and heavy metal pollution persists in the soil and thus needs rethinking the engagement with the imperceptible mutations of ecosystems. Symphony of the Stones was created in response to this context. This research-creation project consists of several urban art installations that activate residual metals in soils by their magnetic characteristics to make these imperceptible pollutants visible. The following paper unfolds the different processes, methodologies and strategies that led to in-site interventions blending art installation, collaboration with different communities and associations and leading to a rethinking of art practices in the urban environment.
