The Undead Archive: 100 Years of Photographing Ghosts
The Undead Archive: 100 Years of Photographing Ghosts
KC Adams, Irene Bindi, Aston Coles, Celia Coles + Martin Finkenzeller, Teresa Burrows, Estelle Chaigne, Angela DeFreitas, Erika DeFreitas, Lily Despic, Chris Dorosz, Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson + Guy Maddin, Jodie Mack, Susan MacWilliam, Megan Moore, Michael Pittman, Paul Robles, Shannon Taggart, Tricia Wasney, Wendt + Dufaux, and Grace A. Williams
With historical photographs and documents from the Hamilton Family Fonds, housed at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections and the Survival Research Institute of Canada
Curated by Dr. Serena Keshavjee
Co-presented by The University of Winnipeg’s Gallery 1C03, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, and the School of Art Gallery, University of Manitoba
Visual description of artworks available
One hundred years ago, renowned author and Spiritualist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle arrived in Winnipeg to give an illustrated lecture on the possibility of communicating with ghosts and spirits. In the audience that night were the Winnipeg physician Thomas Glendenning Hamilton, and his wife, Lillian Hamilton, a trained nurse. The Hamiltons went on to carry out hundreds of controlled séance experiments in a séance laboratory, investigating the invisible ‘psychic’ force that they believed was evidence of personalities surviving corporeal death. These experiments resulted in a series of captivating black and white photographs which form the core of this exhibition. The Undead Archive and the accompanying anthology, The Art of Ectoplasm, contextualize the photographs from an art historical point of view, revealing attitudes to science and religion in Winnipeg after World War I and the 1919 pandemic.
Dr. Hamilton was a leader in psychical research during the 1930s, and his photographs were received in some international circles as scientific evidence of life after death. These uncanny images of ectoplasm had a second wave of recognition in the early 2000s after they were digitized and made available online. A large-scale, multi-site exhibition featuring photographs, séance-related archival manuscripts, and alternative scientific documents from the Hamilton Family Fonds, alongside a host of contemporary artworks in a variety of media, The Undead Archive highlights how contemporary artists from Winnipeg and around the world have responded to these photographs.
Dr. Serena Keshavjee is a Professor at The University of Winnipeg where she teachers Modern art and architecture.
The Undead Archive is presented with the generous support of the Manitoba Arts Council and draws on research and student training supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
EXHIBITION DATES
September 7 – November 10, 2023
Gallery 1C03
1st Floor, Centennial Hall
515 Portage Avenue
The University of Winnipeg
Winnipeg, MB R38 2E9
September 21, 2023 to April 21, 2024
University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
330 Elizabeth Dafoe Library
25 Chancellor’s Circle
University of Manitoba Fort Garry Campus
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2
September 21 – November 10, 2023
School of Art Gallery
255 ARTlab
180 Dafoe Road
University of Manitoba Fort Garry Campus
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2
Opening Reception and Bus Tour: Thursday, September 21
4:00-6:00 pm – The University of Winnipeg, Gallery 1C03
6:00-7:00 pm – University of Manitoba, Archives & Special Collections
7:00-9:00 pm – University of Manitoba, School of Art Gallery
Celebrate the opening of The Undead Archive at this one-night, three-part reception, starting at Gallery 1C03.
Need a ride? There will be a free bus transporting guests between venues. Hop on the bus and learn more about ectoplasm, spirit photography and the fascinating research that has brought this exhibition to life.
The bus will leave from The University of Winnipeg Gallery 1C03 at 5:30 pm, taking guests to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections and School of Art Gallery receptions. The bus will leave from free the School of Art Gallery at 8:45 pm, returning to The University of Winnipeg.
ADJUNCT PROGRAMMING
Tours: The Undead Archive with Dr. Serena Keshavjee
Tuesday, September 19, 12:15-1:15 pm, Gallery 1C03
Wednesday, September 20, 1:30-2:30 pm, School of Art Gallery
Saturday, September 23, 12:00-1:00 pm, School of Art Gallery
ASL interpretation available upon request. Please contact the School of Art Gallery Educator by September 6 if required.
Panel Discussion: Photographing Ghosts with Estelle Chaigne and Shannon Taggart
Moderated by Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk
September 20, 12:00-1:30 pm CDT
School of Art, ARTlab 364
Event recording
Also live-streaming on the University of Manitoba School of Art Gallery YouTube channel. ASL interpretation available.
Workshop: The 3rd Eye with Estelle Chaigne
Wednesday, September 20, 2:30-4:30 pm
ARTlab 462
ASL Interpretation available.
Performance: Estelle Chaigne: Surfaces sensible
September 21, 4:00-8:45 pm
Gallery 1C03, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections and School of Art Gallery
Online Lecture: Magick, Mediumship, and Contemporary Art by Dr. Grace A. Williams
September 22, 12:00-1:30 pm CDT
Lecture recording. ASL interpretation available.
Presented in partnership with MAWA – Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art
Symposium: Study of Psychic Phenomena: Mediumship, Spirit Guides, Table Levitations, Ectoplasm and Photography
University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
Friday, September 22, 7:00-9:00 pm
Saturday, September 23, 10:00 am-5:00 pm
Admission by donation; limited tickets available in September on symposium webpage
Co-presented by the Survival Research Institute of Canada and the University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections
Performance: Estelle Chaigne: Naï
Tuesday, September 26, 7:00 pm
Black Lodge, Winnipeg Film Group, 304-100 Arthur Street
Admission: $6.00 or pay what you can
Presented by Winnipeg Film Group
Panel Discussion: Unsettling the Spirits with KC Adams, Erika DeFreitas, Chris Dorosz, and Paul Robles
Thursday, October 19, 4:00- 5:15, Room 2M70, The University of Winnipeg
Moderated by Dr. Serena Keshavjee with discussant Catherine van Reenan
Event recording
ASL Interpretation available upon request. Please contact Gallery 1C03 Director/Curator by October 3 if required.
Presented in partnership with The Space Between Us
Screening: Ceremonies of Light: The Films of Kenneth Anger
Curated by Jaimz Asmundson and introduced by Murray Leeder
Saturday, October 28, 7:00 pm
Dave Barber Cinematheque
304-100 Arthur Street
Admission: pay what you can
Presented in partnership with Winnipeg Film Group
Book Launch: The Art of Ectoplasm: Encounters with Winnipeg’s Ghost Photographs
Wednesday, November 1, 7:00 pm
McNally Robinson
Grant Park, 1120 Grant Avenue, Unit 4000
Also live-streaming on YouTube.
Presented by McNally Robinson