The Montreal Biosphere was originally constructed as the United States Pavilion for the 1967 World Expo. Receiving almost 50 million visitors in under a year, the structure became a symbol of Montreal’s futurity, growth, and romanticism in the 1960s. However, after an incredible fire engulfed the structure in 1976, it was left decimated and ruined until being reopened as a museum in the 90s.
Ruine captures the evolution of the Biosphere, but works against our undeniable instinct to construct a temporal narrative while watching a documentary film that uses archival footage. By combining archival and original footage, Ruine confuses the viewer at times and forces them to construct new meanings for the sounds and sights they experience. The film argues that it is not enough to see what something has become; how do we experience change and how does our memory of old forms influence our interactions with things in the present? Not just how does Montreal identity tie into the architecture of the Biosphere, but how does identity tie into the experience of the Biosphere, both as a tangible structure and as a symbol of historical optimism?
© Alexander Krause 2021
Photos and Stills from Ruine
