,000,

,000, is a multimedia theatrical production that tracks the history of the Canadian city of New Westminster (near Vancouver) along with biographical details of its residents and the urban landscape that they inhabit. Layering sculpture, light, audio—including a score by composer Paul Kajander—and video, the performance guides the audience through the story of two entwined characters: a dying rust-belt town unable to let go of nostalgia for the “old days,” and a small-time actress struggling against the indignities of the film industry while making ends meet as a part-time dominatrix. The audio and visual elements combine the competing voices of the players—the actress, her clients, the wives and girlfriends, the critics, and the town bureaucrats—into a collaged narrative, with the pre-recorded voice of each character (recorded by the artist while in residence) embodied by a related object that includes props, sculptures, lights, speakers, and screens. Isabelle Pauwels’ work blends performance and documentary realism to highlight the fraught relationship between narrative conventions and everyday social interaction. Her recent exhibitions include the Power Plant, Toronto; the Western Front, Vancouver; National Gallery of Canada, Ontario, and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.