Walking and Blotting Paper, Rimouski, 2004

Over a week, I walked nearly the entire territory of Rimouski. Every day, after my walk (about 8h each day), I would retrace the whole journey mentally, writing down everything I would remember. I then covered the walls of a windowed space located on the corner of a street in downtown Rimouski with these notes and fragmentary memories of a subjective experience of the city.

A few weeks before my residency, I posted a call to meet unknown people who had never been to Rimouski. I met them in coffee shops and recorded them describing for me the Rimouski they imagined. Once in Rimouski, I printed posters with fragments of these interviews and plastered them in various public locations throughout the city.

I also made small listening boxes at which visitors could listen to the imaginary descriptions of Rimouski. On the presentation space windows, I plotted the shape created on the city map by my daily walk.

Excerpts from the interviews with unknown people who had never been to Rimouski… but describe it to me (00:40)

Chinese ink, wood, audio cable, speakers, cardboard posters. A very special thank you to all who generously shared their imagery with me. Photo: Julie Faubert.