The Lower mainland has been predicated to be submerged by a 1.4 meter sea level rise by 2100. One location that is predicted to be heavily affected in the future by sea level rise is skwtsa7s (meaning “island” in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language) and Xwayxway (the name of the original Indigenous Village that was forced off the land), commonly referred to as Deadman’s Island and Stanley Park. On the coastline of Xwayxway, from Brockton Point Lighthouse to the Nine O’Clock Gun, is the burial ground from the past Indigenous village which overtime became an alternative informal cemetery following colonization. Beneath the Depths / Deaths installs a series of landscape changes over the next few decades, such as sculptural trees commemorative of the life and history within skwtsa7s, a boardwalk composed from dead coastal trees that line the submerged coastal edge of Xwayxway, and a strategic dismantling of the Seawall to highlight the lost cemetery buried along the peninsula. Through allowing the natural succession of sea level rise, this project aims to deteriorate existing colonial infrastructure, while simultaneously bringing attention to the forgotten stories and souls of Skwtsa7s and Xwayxway. Beneath the Depths / Deaths hopes that bringing visitors to face the reality of loss of land due to sea level rise can also be an opportunity to reveal the cultural history tied within the land.
Beneath the Depths / Deaths
Angelica Ragandac-Ladrera, Hoi Ying Ng, & Narita Reyes Ico | LARC 504 with Christen Oakes & Noora Hijra