CAN you hear them?

Can You Hear Them? is the title of an augmented reality (AR) public artwork inspired by the history of Lekwungen territory. This piece speaks more specifically to the many waterways – creeks, bogs, streams, marches - that used to meander across the south of Vancouver Island. The First People of the land – the Lekwungen Speaking People - navigated these waters in dugout canoes. These water passages were particularly useful during the winter months when the high tides and surging waves made it dangerous to travel along the exposed south coast.

 Most of the traditional waterways have been drained, covered or built over. One of them, named the Empress Creek by the colonists, flowed from the wetlands where Cook Street Village currently stands, connecting the inner harbour to Ross Bay. In 1904, the construction of the Empress Hotel began. Wetlands were drained and the Empress Creek was culverted. The Empress Creek still runs through the subbasement of the Empress Hotel today.

Some streams are still alive under the layers of asphalt and concrete. Several of them flow throughout the city, even if now they are hidden from sight.

Can you hear them?

This public artwork was commissioned by MediaNet and presented as part of the REAVEALING PRESENCE Augmented Reality Walk on the lawn of the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC. 

https://www.fluxmediagallery.org/revealing-presence