Jacek Smolicki
Adanac, 2021
Date: 07.01.2021
Place: Vancouver, BC, an unceded territory of Coast Salish peoples - Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlīlwəta?/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəýəm (Musqueam) Nations.
Format: Mixed media documentation from a soundwalk
Several days after moving to the apartment at Adanac street (first one after temporarily relocating to Vancouver, BC), somebody pointed out that the street's name is 'Canada' if read backwards. For my final soundwalk (many of which I took during my stay), right before moving back to Stockholm, I chose to walk down that pretty uneventful, 4km long street, backwards. It took me about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Except some kids jumping on a trampoline, no one seemed surprised. "Look, he has eyes at the back of his head", one of the kids shouted. One purpose of my stay in Vancouver was to think critically through the city's soundscapes by looking and listening 'back in time'. I tried to connect with the complex history of this part of the world through echoes of its gone soundscapes, still resonant although significantly subdued by colonial noises and capitalist rhythms. It felt somewhat natural to spend my last day by experiencing the place from where I began 'in reverse'. Consequently, the accompanying recording I made during the entire walk, using wearable binaural microphones, was processed as to move backwards.