Passengers
Location
Quebec City, CanadaClient
Société du 400e anniversaire de QuébecSurface area
13,003 sq ft / 1,208 m²Completion date
2008
Someone once asked, “Did you ever notice that the first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone?” The idea behind Passengers—which celebrated Quebec City as a confluence of human movement—was to pick up that first piece of luggage, and to go with the flow.
On the occasion of Quebec City’s 400th anniversary, the Société du 400e anniversaire de Québec turned to well-known filmmaker Patrice Sauvé to develop the concept and content for the interactive exhibition. GSM Project was entrusted with the design and scenography.
The setting was an imaginary airport—the ultimate transit area—in which the visitor became a passenger. Airport signage and cues, pictograms that are understood internationally, played a unifying role throughout the installation. And of course, the suitcase—the emblematic travel accessory—was the key object.
As they entered, visitors picked up a suitcase that they carried throughout the space, setting it down in specific locations to trigger audio-visual content—images, testimonials, words, music, and stories of the people who lived, and who still live, in Quebec City. The suitcase, which symbolically holds everything that travellers have brought with them to the city over the past four centuries, became a mechanism for encounters with the waves of people who have passed through or stayed on to shape the city’s image.
Summary
On the occasion of Quebec City’s 400th anniversary, the Société du 400e anniversaire de Québec turned to well-known filmmaker Patrice Sauvé to develop the concept and content for the interactive exhibition. GSM Project was entrusted with the design and scenography.