Liminality

Liminality

Liminality, our research-creation project, began with an interest in cemeteries and their place in the urban fabric and among the living. We decided to investigate on the biggest cemetery in Montreal, the Notre-Dame-des-Neig- es cemetery. Having done previous research, we developed an interest in the ways in which people nowadays interact with such a large and central space that is reserved for the dead. Our research question, therefore, was: knowing the history of the Victorian cemetery Notre-Dame-des-Neiges and its importance within the urban fabric of Montreal, how could one re-appropriate a space that is inherently built for the dead, as one for the living and those to come? Through further research, we learned about the great emphasis and role that nature played within this space and how it served as a link between the living and the dead.

The installation’s soundscape used exerpts of the interview with Eric Choinier, the PR director of the cemetery and found sounds recorded within it.