Real Estate Agent vs. the Angel of History

Real Estate Agent vs the Angel of History is a narrative installation that combines video and sculpture. It tells the story of two puppets, who serve as vehicles to explore our different, conflicting relationships with land and time.

The puppets are installed as sculptures inside a minivan. From inside the van, a video projects out onto a wall near a construction site. In the video, the Realtor invites you (the audience) on a virtual tour of a high-end property that will soon go up on the ground you are standing on. He draws you in, eager to sell you his vision of a beautiful and luxurious future — or is he just trying to prove his self-worth?

But the Realtor’s sales pitch is disrupted by the Angel of History, a magical being who remembers everything that has ever happened. His constant interjections flummox the Realtor, as the Angel recalls vivid but mundane scenes from the lives of people who have lived on this site over the years. The Angel is small and defenseless in the face of the forces of 'progress' — like a bird buffeted by hurricane-force winds. Despite this, he treasures the places that have been destroyed to make way for new developments, and he seeks to salvage their memories.

How can we reckon with the human motivations that drive housing instability and gentrification? When a new building goes up, what can we do to hold onto what was there before? With this installation, we hope to offer a moment of stillness and reflection to audience members who move, every day, through an urban landscape which is transforming at a breakneck speed.

The Angel’s monologue will draw from local accounts, archives, and Mi’kmaq history. An interactive element will invite festival-goers to add to the Angel’s story by recording their own memories of treasured places they can no longer access.