Kushapetshekan / Kosapitcikan – A Glimpse Into the Other World

Kushapetshekan / Kosapitcikan – A Glimpse Into the Other World is an immersive installation in which various elements evocative of the sacred appear. It provides a means for “a glimpse into the other world”— transposing the Innu and Atikamekw idea behind the words kushapetshekan and kosapitcikan, kept secret by those First Nations peoples—without, nonetheless, entirely revealing it, through an approach that the artists have rooted in decolonization. The accompanying soundtrack also suggests another space and time.

A cylinder-shaped device is used as a surface for projection in order to heighten the intimate nature of the experience and invite visitors to pause for a moment. The installation can be experienced in a small group or individually, and visitors can choose to “inhabit” the work by entering it or by observing it from a more distant position outside. Through the work, the artists share an element of their culture in their own way, while leaving a way open for interpretation.