Echoes of Silence & Surveillance is a generative motion graphics artwork created by EEPMON during his Creator-in-Residency at Library and Archives Canada. The piece draws on the Register of Chinese Immigrants to Canada (1886–1949), utilizing a dataset from a University of British Columbia (UBC) research project led by Professors Peter Ward and Henry Yu. Using transcribed head tax records, the work exposes the systemic surveillance inherent in Canada’s historical discriminatory immigration policies.
The artwork features randomized, ever-shifting visuals of flashing text that cascade across the screen, evoking the anxiety of relentless bureaucratic oversight. This is juxtaposed with a digital wave symbolizing both the ocean and the pursuit of opportunity. Generative patterns of train tracks weave through the composition, honoring the labor of Chinese individuals in the construction of Canada’s railways. As the generative output never repeats, it reflects the fleeting, silenced voices of individuals, inviting viewers to reflect on their resilience within oppressive systems. It is noted that the dataset’s transcription may contain errors due to the meticulous nature of the historical recording process.
Software: Processing (https://processing.org)
Media References
S: 103 BPM Industrial Ambient Loop #13452 (WAV) by looplicator | License: Attribution 4.0
S: FX – Beep bomb countdown 3 by TILIADESIGN | License: Creative Commons 0
