Secret Selfies xost

An essay about self-portraits. Welcome to season three.

Michael is an artist based in Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia.

My past artistic work has primarily been poetry and essays, as well as collaborative sculptural installations. The underlying principle of these works was an attempt to create art that is hospitable. Two years ago my partner was killed, and since then my work has been shaped instead by grief. This has taken the form of various rituals, and the collecting of sacred objects, in addition to writing. I would like to create an audio selfie that investigates the connections between ritual and loss. What is the texture of repetition, what accumulates in an attempt to reconcile ourselves to absence?

Ben is a poet living in Halifax.

How can we cultivate selflessness in what we create? Is the act of creating inherently an act of selfishness? Is everything we make secretly a selfie of some kind? If selfies are our own perspectives on ourselves, does it become an incubator or an echo chamber? How can we create work that moves our world forward, that connects to other people and provides some sort of opportunity for change? How do we make something personal that reaches out, work that is true to ourselves without becoming self-indulgent?

Colleen is an Albertan-born artist now based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

I would like to explore the dichotomy of self and other, the tension between connection and separation. I'm interested in the concept of union, beyond its basic definitions. What drives us towards it and what keeps us apart? Why are we taking so many selfies in the first place? Does it have anything to do with an innate desire—or need— to dissolve barriers of self and others and realize a state of the union. I think it does. But in our awkward attempts to be witnessed how are we missing the mark, reinforcing separation and the loneliness that ensues.

Tanya is a singer-songwriter and poet, based in Halifax.

I’m excited to explore the limitless possibilities of sound. As a dance artist, I focus on movement and the visual world. To dive into sonic waters is exciting and intriguing. What will come out of it? Who knows! That’s what excites me the most.

Susanne is the Co-Artistic Director of Mocean Dance in Halifax.

I have had a long-time interest in what our voices can betray us. How we change it to get what we need and how it changes involuntarily as our emotions shift and change. When my first child was born, I swore to be aware and careful with my voice and now that that child is 3, I am at times pleased, and at other times appalled at the sound of my voice in relation to her. In this residency, I explored the joy and shame of how I relate vocally to my children, and to create a piece that captures our complex and amazing relationships.

Sue is a performer and Co-Artistic Director of Zuppa Theatre Co. who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 2017.