Where fact and fiction collide
Museum of the Flat Earth in Newfoundland is run by artist and her persona
FOGO ISLAND, N.L.— The Museum of the Flat Earth isn’t open on this quirky, resilient island that some have declared one of the four corners of the Earth, but Kay Burns is willing to unlock the doors and show us around. The first clue that things aren’t going to unfold as expected comes when she hands over a business card that defines her position as “founder/artistic director” under the slogan “Think outside the sphere.”
I had come to this modest building in Shoal Bay with a deliberately open mind — family in tow, warning everyone to be respectful — knowing only vaguely that flat earthers are free thinkers who believe the round earth is an elaborate hoax. Sometimes it’s more fun not to do your research.
The Flat Earth Society of Canada believes Fogo Island, especially the rocky outcrop Brimstone Head that you can climb for a spectacular view of the North Atlantic Ocean, is one of the four corners of the Earth. It’s a bold claim that’s repeated on the Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism website. And the whole “four corners/edge of the Earth” theme is also splashed all over the website of the luxurious, world-famous Fogo Island Inn.
It turns out that what most would take as a literal assertion might just be a playful, challenging one.
“When people say ‘Do you really believe the Earth is flat,’ inevitably I don’t answer it,” Burns admits. “I just pose questions.” Questions about open-mindedness, investigation, interrogation and critical thinking. Questions like why we understand the Earth to be round when we experience it as flat.
Burns, it turns out, is a visual and performance artist, originally from Ontario and schooled in Alberta, who has worked in theatres and been a curator and professor. Her fascination with flat Earth theory started with an abstract sculpture series in the 1980s and evolved with the creation of Iris Taylor, an eccentric “performance persona” who is an ethnographer and independent researcher.
“Iris is president of the Flat Earth Society of Canada and recruits members,” allows Burns, quickly adding: “It’s all very fun, a bit tongue-incheek and very playful.” Then again, the society has an application form, about 60 dues-paying members and an inaugural newsletter.
Taylor, the story goes, was given a trunk belonging to the missing (and fictional) Bartholomew Seeker from a crawl space under a Fogo house. It was filled with journals and artifacts relating to the flat Earth. The story takes off from there, inspired by the now-defunct Flat Earth Society of Canada that was started by university professors in Fredericton in 1970, but it’s better if you hear the rest of the tale in person from Taylor or Burns, depending on who’s available.
It’s your mission to separate fact from fiction. Fact: Burns has been trying to verify reports that Canadian members of the real flat Earth group visited Fogo in the 1970s and declared it the edge of the world. Fact: Taylor pays dues to be a member of an international flat earth society. Fact: When you’re in this space, you will start questioning everything.
Burns and her husband Curtis moved to Newfoundland from Alberta in 2009 and then relocated to Fogo about five years ago. As she describes it, it has been “one of those organic paths that you follow to find out where you are and it continues to evolve on a daily basis.” He was an IT guy who transitioned into coffee roasting and launched Flat Earth Coffee Co.
“What would you call it if you were coming to Fogo Island and roasting coffee at the edge of the Earth?” Curtis asks. “You’d call it Flat Earth Coffee. It seems like the only name possible.” He serves his coffee, tea, baked goods and sandwiches on the Fogo Island/Change Islands ferry.
Like his wife, Curtis deflects probing questions about his beliefs, saying: “You have to decide yourself. This is the thing — how do you choose to perceive your world? This is the fundamental question.” The Museum of the Flat Earth launched in 2016 “at the intersection of fact and fiction” and doubles as Flat Earth Coffee’s Outpost Café & Roastery. It’s free (technically by donation) to look around the tiny space, gift shop, library, archives and “cabinet of curiosities,” full of things like a scruffy rodent that you can name by filling out a card detailing its species, habitat and behaviour.
Kay Burns has created a GPS-triggered audio walk of Fogo featuring the voice of Taylor. She used a Canada Council project grant to bring three artists to the island this summer for “A Raft of Auks.” Through performance, audio, installation and radio, they explored the premise that the supposedly extinct Great Auk (a flightless bird) actually lives on the other side of the flat Earth.
“It’s really kind of fun to continue with this story,” muses Burns, who loves her remote yet art-infused life on Fogo. There’s plenty of skepticism about what she does, she cheerfully admits, and someone once asked her how long Taylor will live, causing her to “sometimes wonder about how she can meet her demise.” jbain@thestar.ca