Signal Songs: Heliographs

two channel video
Made in residence at Tides Institute & Museum of Art, Eastport, ME
2022

In this component of Signal Songs, we used heliographs to signal to one another across the US/Canada border. Erin was on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada, and Colleen was on Treat Island, Maine, US (one of the many contested areas in the region that has been claimed by both countries). At this distance, signaling with a heliograph is a blind process; the sender has no way of knowing if the signal is working or is being received. Like a lighthouse, it says “I want you to know I’m here.” 

The format of the video mirrors the layout of vintage stereoview photographs from the TIMA collection. An early 19th century innovation, stereoscopic images are two discrete photos that, through binocular vision, become one. This idea of blending ourselves and our respective sides of the border into one speaks to the fluidity and permeability that is essential to this landscape and to our work as a collaborative.