Settler Seance is an environment of geometric patterns and objects based on genealogical research into Sparks’ working class Bozeman history.

Sparks is the great-great granddaughter of Julius Lehrkind, who stowed away on a ship from Germany to escape war with Denmark and eventually settled in Bozeman to start a brewery. The project is site-specific, as Tinworks Art is located in the heart of the historic brewery district developed by Lehrkind in 1895. Settler Seance acknowledges and pays tribute to four generations of the Lehrkind family who lived and/or frequented family gatherings at the historic Lehrkind Mansion.

Sparks’ installation includes a 15-foot geometric wall painting that diagrams her maternal bloodline. The painted wall and existing black and white checkered floor are overlaid with paintings and wooden sculptures created as ceremonial objects for each family member. Using Hermetic Magic correspondence systems, Sparks translated the letters of 24 names into colorful patterns to unlock their hidden resonances. In tandem with paintings and objects, a video screening synthesizes oral histories, field recordings, and text with corresponding musical chords and color sequences composed by Shawn E Hansen.

An edition of zines, including the Sparks’ 2022 northside walking tour script, archival photos, and drawings provide context for Lehrkind history as well as the artist’s esoteric ideation process. While embedded with specific identities and histories, the abstract nature of Settler Seance reflects ways that time, demographic, and cultural changes absorb into and transform the region. As Bozeman’s working class rapidly disappears, Settler Seance offers an opportunity to conjure local history through interpersonal stories and memories. The work offers a multisensory experience shaped by an invisible past.