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Photo by Carla Alcantara
http://www.carla-alcantaraphotography.com/
Instagram - @Carla_alcantaraphotography
Facebook - Carla Alcantara Photography
Pictured: Oliver Fusio (Instagram - @olvrlim), Sara van Gaalen (Instagram - @_sara.vg_), Jae Gonzales, & TJ Tan (Instagram - @terrisishere_)
Lighting Design: Colleen Bayati (she/her) and Coco Zhou
School for the Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University
Instagram - @sfucontemporaryarts
Project Description
This performance is part of a contemporary art project called Performing Public Memory, in which we, Jae Gonzales and TJ Tan, recreate photos from the City of Vancouver Archives. We chose three photos that were taken in different parts of Stanley Park and one photo taken on Water Street.
Each photo we are recreating depicts a couple somewhere in the photo. But, in many of these photos, the couples are not the focus, they are pictured at varying distances. The smaller image of the couple is contained within the larger image of the historical site. We are interested in creating these small and intimate images in large public spaces, making a small spectacle of these relationships.
We are also interested in seeing how Vancouver's historical locations have changed. We have been to Stanley Park and Downtown Vancouver many times and find joy in the fact that the sites we have chosen have stayed mostly the same. We want to compare Vancouver’s past to its present and see what has stayed the same. How has time treated these places?
Our final interest is in the demographic of the photos in the City of Vancouver Archives. Most of the photos we found were of mostly, if not entirely, white people. These images are from a time when whiteness was the majority. We, however, are not white. Jae is Filipino and TJ is Chinese. Additionally, the demographics of Vancouver have changed. The majority is still white, but populations of people of colour, especially East Asians, more specifically Chinese people, are continually growing. We are interested in recreating these images while following the demographics of the present. What does it mean to recreate these stills with two Asian people?
Performing Public Memory: Water Street scene, looking west Credits
Song is Last Kiss by Wednesday
(Wednesday, a Canadian band, created the song Last Kiss, which was in the top 100 songs in 1973 for 14 weeks on Vancouver's CKLG Chart)
Performed by Jae Gonzales and TJ Tan
Recorded by Marissa Capron and Lauren Han
Performing Public Memory Credits
Song is Green Tea & Honey by Dane Amar featuring Jereena Montemayor
Performed and recorded by Jae Gonzales and TJ Tan
Historical Context
The first picture we recreated was originally taken on Water Street looking west, between 1972 and 1974. On the right you can see part of the façade and awnings of Brother Jon's Restaurant, previously at 1 Water Street, signage for the Gastown Wax Museum, previously at 21 Water Street, and the building of the Old Spaghetti Factory, currently at 53 Water Street. All are visible along the sidewalk. Across the street, to the left of the photo, you can see signage for the Town Pump restaurant and cabaret, previously at 66 Water Street, and the Dominion Hotel, currently at 210 Abbot Street.
Stanley Park was first opened by Mayor David Oppenheimer on September 27, 1888, two years after Vancouver was incorporated as a city.
In 1911, Otto Moberg, the architect for CP Rail Chalets and Lodges, located in Banff and Lake Louise, designed the Swiss-chalet style Stanley Park Pavilion. The second picture we recreated was originally taken on the south side of the Stanley Park Pavilion, circa 1912. Interestingly, the pavilion opened to the public in 1913. It then became the central meeting and socializing area in the park. In 2005, the Stanley Park Pavilion Tearoom was converted into Stanley’s Bar and Grill. The lease for the pavilion was taken over by Capilano Group in 2014. The pavilion then went under extensive restorations. Currently, the Stanley Park Pavilion is a popular wedding and banquet venue.
Lost Lagoon, which is actually a lake, was created and landlocked by the construction of the Stanley Park Causeway in 1916. Originally known as Ch’ekxwa’7lech, meaning “dry at times,” it was a tidal mudflat connected to the Burrard Inlet through Coal Harbour and was previously used as a food-sourcing site for the Musqueam, Squamish, and Burrard peoples. In 1922, the area was officially named Lost Lagoon, with the name coming from Canadian writer Pauline Johnson. Johnson recalled:
“This was just to please my own fancy, for, as that perfect summer month drifted on, the ever-restless tides left the harbour devoid of water at my favourite canoeing hour, and my pet idling place was lost for many days – hence my fancy to call it the Lost Lagoon.”
It was converted into a freshwater site using funds raised by a fly-fishing organization in 1929. Lost Lagoon is currently the largest body of water in Stanley Park. The third picture we recreated was originally taken at Lost Lagoon, near the Stanley Park Tennis Courts, in 1960.
In 1917, construction for the seawall and walkway around Stanley Park began. It took several decades to complete. The fourth picture we recreated was originally taken along the Stanley Park Seawall on February 21, 1970.
The Lions Gate Bridge opened to the public in 1938, after one and a half years of construction and millions of dollars were spent.
Currently, according to the City of Vancouver website, Stanley Park is “Vancouver's first, largest, and most beloved urban park!”
Unfortunately, there is no information about the people in any of the photos.
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