Milton Lim: whitepages
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The New Gallery 208 Centre Street SE, Calgary, Alberta T2G 2B6
Milton Lim, "white pages," 2020
Exhibition Description /
whitepages is an object-oriented multimedia installation examining the phonebook as a living archive of human migration. Consisting of projected datasets, generative sound, twelve phonebooks arranged as a telephone keypad, and an overhead camera sensor, whitepages creates a space to consider the extended relationships of names, phone numbers, and addresses across time.
Using common Chinese surnames to create a sampling frame, the phonebook becomes a time capsule of conditions preceding contemporary concerns of Vancouver’s housing market crisis and Richmond’s racialized linguistic policies. It traces the distinct waves of Chinese immigration to Canada over the last century; journeys resulting from the promise of gold, new employment opportunities, many significant political shifts overseas, and more recently, the now-defunct Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) which, from 1986-2014, rapidly transformed the racial demographics of British Columbia.
Telephone directories retain information about who was permitted to own land, who was recognized as a citizen by the government, and where enclaves developed. They even document the exclusion of Chinese names from BC phonebooks in the early 1900’s, which in turn, gave rise to the Chinese Publicity Bureau (Vancouver) publishing their first separate Chinese-Canadian phonebook in 1935.
whitepages, like the technologies it references and is built upon, interfaces past contexts via present conditions. Today, the decline of these hardcopy directories gestures towards our changing relationship to our contact details as we continue transacting public ‘information’ into the currency of public ‘data’. Access to digital material is immediate, direct, and efficient. On the other hand, the phonebook offers an alternative perspective, one that holds the complexities and weight of the decisions that brought us here.
Biography /
Milton Lim (he/him) is a media artist and performance creator based in Vancouver, Canada. His research-based practice utilizes publicly available data and interactive media to illustrate expressions of value, discourse, and labour within abstract frameworks of power and politics. Milton holds a BFA (Hons.) in theatre performance and psychology from Simon Fraser University.
His projects have been presented at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival (Vancouver), the Vancouver Art Gallery, VIVO Media Arts Centre, CanAsian Dance Festival (Toronto), Carrefour international de théâtre festival (Quebec City), Seattle International Dance Festival, Risk/Reward Festival (Portland), artsdepot (London), soft/WALL/studs (Singapore), and Australia’s Darwin Festival, among others.
Milton is a Co-Artistic Director of Hong Kong Exile, Artistic Associate with Theatre Conspiracy, archivist with videocan, Digital Interaction Designer with The Cultch, and one of the co-creators behind culturecapital: the performing arts economy trading card game. He is currently an Artist-in-Residence with The Theatre Centre (Toronto).
The New Gallery (TNG) is thrilled to present whitepages, an exhibition by Milton Lim. TNG is encouraging patrons to book their visit via Eventbrite. You can book your appointment and see all of the safety protocols here. Alternatively, you can reach us at +1 403 233 2399 to book an appointment.
For groups of 6 or more, or for other specific accommodations, we are happy to offer free digital tours. If you’d like to organize a tour please select this option on Eventbrite, or contact Nivedita Iyer, our Communications & Outreach Coordinator, at nivedita@thenewgallery.org