Over the Rainbow, Under the Radar is an audiovisual presentation of Charles Stankievech’s experience of the Arctic as a hybrid zone of brute reality and fantasy projection. Combining archival material, scientific theories, geopolitical maps and the artist’s own fieldworks, the lecture engages ideas of military colonialism and communication technology embedded in the sublime landscape. Stemming from the time Stankievech lived in Northern Canada and travelled to remote military outposts, Over the Rainbow draws from primary research ranging from his visit to the archives at M.I.T. as well as a residency with the Canadian Department of National Defence at the northernmost settlement in the world: the Signals Intelligence Station Alert. The resulting documentation, including images and video taken by the artist, has been published by NASA and exhibited at the Palais de Toyko, Paris and the Musée d’art contemporain in Montréal, among others. The lecture was originally commissioned for the Phyllis Lambert Seminar at the Université de Montréal.

Following the talk, there will be a special preview of Charles Stankievech’s exhibition The Soniferous Æther of The Land Beyond The Land Beyond, which officially opens on April 26.

Presented by SAW Video Media Art Centre, Ottawa Art Gallery, the City of Ottawa, and the NAC's Northern Scene.