Info
Shadows of the North is a reflection of experiences with immigration detention in Canada. It is an exploration of the aesthetic of invisibility. Through the mechanics of generative art, counterpointed by shadow, we sought to achieve resonance – an echoing of the discord between hopeful anticipation and lived experience.
Commissioned by Amnesty International Canada (English Section), Supernova Arts Collective curated and directed the artistic content in consultation with researchers from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who acted in an advisory capacity drawing on the research and interviews they conducted for their joint report, "I Didn’t Feel Like a Human in There: Immigration Detention in Canada and Its Impact on Mental Health."
Most of the testimonies, quotations and informational text in Shadows of the North are taken directly from the report published on June 17, 2021. In those instances, voice actors substituted the voices of immigration detainees, but we aimed to honour their region of origin. We are grateful to these actors for their support and for the opportunity to illuminate these stories. We were privileged to include the words of “Amina” and Abdelrahman in their own voices.
Human rights violations often happen at the margins of visibility, but, as writer and activist Rebecca Solnit wrote in her book Hope in the Dark, "...the power comes from the shadows and the margins… our hope is in the dark around the edges."
CREDITS
by Supernova Art Collective
- Producer: Fusun Uzun
- Creators: James Essex & Fusun Uzun
- Web & GL Development: James Essex
- Visual Design: James Essex & Fusun Uzun
- Sound Design & Mixing: Kerem Aksoy & Duygu Asena Unlu
- Voice Consultant: Lopa Sircar
- Voice-Over Artists: Joseph: Omari Newton - Michelle: Jane Dut - Omar: Noaman Rahin - Jonathan: John Echano - Charles: Kym Dominique-Ferguson - John: Bob Youssef - Jason: Vincent Smith - Ken: Macdonald Nkemda - Usman: Sam Youssef - Karim: Bob Youssef - Tiffany: Ya Ju Weng - Amina: Own voice - Abdelrahman Elmady: Own voice
- Produced with the co-operation of the Union of B.C. Performers