Monthly Archives

August 2017

Melanie Letore

Week 2 – back in Geneva

I saw Josée one more time before leaving for home. She was scanning her negatives from her trip to Taiwan earlier this year. I felt very lucky to listen to her reflections on her own work. The following day, I took a flight back home. Having two homes / Avoir deux "chez-soi"   I went on a hike through the gorges…
August 29, 2017
Josee Pedneault

Day 15 – Vieques

Anonymous. Vieques photo archives. The history of Vieques ever since Spanish colonization is a history of struggle and resistance. Located off the coast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, Vieques is one of the United States unincorporated territory, a status vague enough as to open the door for colonial-type of abuses. As a matter of fact, in 1945, the US…
August 27, 2017
Josee Pedneault

Day 14 – Home made micro self published collective book

Mohammed and Rago undertook a partial translation of the book "From Dictatorship to Democracy" in Amharic and Arabic. A second meeting of the workshop « Other Libraries » took place at the CCA with a wonderful group of international participants, mostly coming from East Africa and the Middle East, who are currently seeking asylum in the UK. We were using flatbed scanners…
August 26, 2017
Josee Pedneault

Day 13 – Mailboat / Bateau-postal

Being isolated, the St. Kildan islanders developed a unique way to get messages to the mainland. They would craft a small boat-shape device inside which they could place a letter. The boat was sealed using lead-based paste, and attached to a buoy made out of a sheep stomach or other floating device. They would launch the apparatus into the sea,…
August 25, 2017
Josee Pedneault

Day 12 – Bird Culture

From "St. Kilda - The Lonely Islands", Christopher Mylne, 1967 St. Kildans were very much dependent on birds for survival. They developed specialized techniques and skills to go up the cliffs to collect eggs and hunt birds. The cliffs where birds would nest were divided among the different families so that everyone would get a fair share of the natural resources.…
August 24, 2017
Josee Pedneault

Day 11 – Lanyu Island 蘭嶼

Small islands are usually vulnerable territories as the population most often don't have enough political leverage to fight against powerful governmental structures, making them easy targets. In May 2017, alongside a Taiwanese friend, I visited Lanyu Island in Taiwan, also known as Orchid Island, or Ponso No Tao. It is the land of the Tao, a traditionally self-sufficient aboriginal culture…
August 23, 2017
Josee Pedneault

Day 10 – Photo vérité

Today I spent the day scanning negatives from an earlier trip to Taiwan last May. I rarely take photographs specifically for a project. I work by collecting and accumulating images that I take or collect from the Internet, archives or other sources. I usually don't feel the need to stay true to the time, the location, the context or even…
August 22, 2017
Josee Pedneault

Day 9 – Total (American) Solar Eclipse

The NASA TV streaming site kept crashing, allowing for another kind of intergalactic experience. / Le site de la NASA TV tombait constamment donnant lieu à un autre genre de voyage intergalactique.   Monday was the day of the total solar eclipse crossing through the United States. Being in Glasgow, I was nowhere near the path of the event, but…
August 21, 2017
Melanie Letore

Week 1 – reflections and greenery

Josée lays her hands on the map of Glasgow / Josée pose ses mains sur la maquette de Glasgow Hello, this is Melanie Letoré here. I will be travelling to Canada in October, as part of Lightwaves International Residency Exchange Program. I live in Glasgow and come from the border between Switzerland and France, the countryside around Geneva. I spent the…
August 21, 2017
Josee Pedneault

Day 8 – Rare Archival Film

EVACUATION OF ST. KILDA, 1930, John P. Ritchie As I was searching in the Moving Image Archive of the National Library of Scotland, I stubble upon a rare film by John P. Ritchie showing life on St. Kilda, the collect of eggs on rocky cliffs, and images of the evacuation of the island. The evacuation was kept secret until 1979,…
August 20, 2017