Screaming Booth, 2012

Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin - Montreal, Canada

Installation

This booth is for you who feel the need to express your joy, distress or pain. For you who would like to scream out loud but who dare not for fear of disturbing the peace, of appearing crazy, or of alarming your friends without cause. This public space, dedicated to screaming, is a soundproofed environment where you can yell without disturbing anyone. In this space, no one can hear you scream…or barely. It absorbs sound waves and produces almost no echo – a mere whisper can be heard on the outside.

In this dark, muffled, individual space, the screamer can at last experience complete catharsis without reservation or judgement. Free to scream (or not), with no time limit and no witnesses; just you = peace. The screamer comes out calmer, freer, and smiling broadly: this is the feeling of release brought about by the liberating effect of the installation. The screamer is ready to once again take on the city, with a renewed sense of self. Enjoy!

This installation examines the relationship between city dwellers and their environment, focusing on the inhibitions that individuals internalize in public spaces. It is a solution to the lack of places in the city where we can freely express our emotions. It offers instead a place of release, where screams no longer have to be suppressed.

Based in Montreal, artist Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin creates installations that play with the notion of space, both the physical space we inhabit and the psychological space we cohabit. She explores different methods of occupying private or public spaces, in which ordinary encounters and everyday reality become the materials of her projects. Her work has been presented in several collective exhibitions and events in Montreal, as well as in New York (Verge Art Fair) and Belgium (Kunst in de loft in Middelkerke).

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Three locations:

280 Spadina Avenue (South-west corner at Dundas Street West)

290 Queen Street West (North side, between Soho Street and Beverley Street)

180 Spadina Avenue (East side, north of Queen Street West)

This project is outdoors.