Remembering Four Sisters
By referencing transgenerational trauma (through divorce, immigration, war, class divide), building of identity, dealing with contrasting sociocultural norms, I find relatable entry into other common histories in the likes of a qualitative researcher- collecting stories as data- and interpret this into autoethnographic works. These interests were born from the efforts to understand ‘Han’, a Korean word describing “shared suffering” since the divide, and also for someone who carries grief or a longing. When researching into the site of Lakeview, I was confronted with two histories: the Lakeview Generating Station and the four smokestacks nicknamed ‘Four Sisters’, and the women who worked to support the men at war, during WWII, in the nearby Small Arms Inspection Building. The mural is an attempt at reminding the Mississauga community, and informing visitors, of these stories to look into our past for strength as we continue to build into the future.
