September 2007 — VOLUME 5 ISSUE 9
History makes art at Tranquille
Shrouded in mystery and evocative of another era, the former sanatorium at Tranquille presents a thought-provoking past.
Among the crumbling buildings, row upon row of shattered windows reflect only a shadow of its former glory. Once an eminent tuberculosis sanatorium and self-contained village, today it’s a decaying ghost town—lurking on the edge of Kamloops Lake for 100 years—out of sight, but never forgotten.
A prominent part of the Kamloops landscape and considered locally an historical site, Tranquille’s current state of neglect and disrepair offered the inspiration for an upcoming art exhibit.
Its powerful presence and unrelenting intrigue provided local artist and exhibition curator Stephanie Farrell with endless subject matter and the result is TAP: Tranquille Art Project.
TAP is the culmination of the work of 20 artists who through a combination of paintings, photography and installations provide their own unique impressions of troubled Tranquille.
The exhibition, which Farrell believes is the first to focus on Tranquille, attempts to capture the intensity and character of the place. Farrell points out many of the artists aimed to explore the urban myths and legends associated with Tranquille—legend has it the site is haunted.
During her research Farrell came across records indicating more than 1,500 people died of TB there from 1910 to 1950, and she attributes the heavy atmosphere that was perceived by the artists to be engulfing Tranquille at least partially to this.
“Most of the artists who went there weren’t really struck by any particular area and it was the same for me—nothing was prominent, but the aura of the place embodied abandonment. It’s been literally and figuratively stripped of its purpose,” says Farrell.
Although she seems not to believe the tall ghost tales, Farrell did have her own Tranquille experience while working on the project.
“Sometimes as I walked around on my own I definitely felt I was being watched, but it wasn’t sinister, it was just awareness that there were people there looking at you,” she says.
Farrell considers TAP a community-based exhibition. Not only does it focus on what many city residents feel is an important historical site, but Tranquille, which was also used as an institution for people with disabilities until the 1980’s—has touched the lives of many. During its heyday over 480 employees and patients lived there.
“It seems Tranquille is a fundamental part of the Kamloops psyche, which extends from its past economic benefit when it was a major employer,” observes Farrell, who believes that now that a resort’s being planned for the site it’s becoming even more endearing and special to the people of the city.
In conjunction with the exhibit, a public symposium will be held at Arnica Sept. 15 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., where the public is invited to tell their stories and record their accounts of Tranquille. The recordings of those memories will then be donated to Kamloops Museum and Archives.
“TAP aims to allow people to ponder the possibility of losing an important historical site and I want them to come in and experience the past and the present. Many of the people are still around who lived and worked there, so it’s all about human stories,” says Farrell.
TAP opens at Arnica on Victoria St. Sept. 7 until Oct. 6. For more information call 250-372-2444.
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