A guest + a host = a ghost
This paper explores the colonial ghosts who persistently hide in the shadows and haunt the historic Etherington House at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston ON. The exhibition and micro-residency, A guest + a host = a ghost, initiated by Sunny Kerr, Neven Lochhead and Dylan Robinson (8 February – 8 May 2022), will serve as a case study in haunting as methodology, the “summoning of an investigative common” and the current “paranormal turn” in art and exhibitions. In bringing together artists, Taymah Armatrading, Hadley Howes, Mo Horner and Vivian Sheng, the hope was to collectively reflect on our haunted histories and (re)imagine our futures by critically and creatively transforming the house back into a home. A specific focus will be on my involvement as a haunted house band-member and phantom librarian in Lochhead’s paranormal curation playgroups and shadow submits.