Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

Jessica Lui

True Heroes

“True Heroes”, light box with photos, LED light, battery, tissue paper, charcoal, dry leaves, ash

“"True Heroes" is about the Chinese railroad workers who played a pivotal role in Canadian history. Before 1885, when the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) made movement across the country cheap andconvenient. British Columbia was difficult to access from other parts of Canada. It was easier, cheaper and faster to get to British Columbia from Hong Kong than from Halifax. Creating a better transportation system wasessential to connect the new Confederation. British Columbia is sandwiched between two American States – Alaska and Washington. Because of the huge obstacle created by the Rocky Mountains. B.C. would like to join the United States. If B.C. were to become part of American states, then Canada would have no access to the Pacific Ocean. It would truly be a great loss for Canadians. Therefore, the first Canadian Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald tried very hard to persuade B.C. to join Canada. The only way to do so is by building a transcontinental railroad through the Rocky Mountains. However, Canada didn’t have enough money nor manpower to build the railroad. Therefore, they hired cheap and hardworking Chinese workers.Chinese workers were paid $1.00 a day, and from this $1.00, they had to pay for their food and gear. White workers were paid $1.50 to $2.50 per day and did not have to pay for provisions. As well as being paid less, Chinese workers were given the most dangerous tasks, such as handling the explosive nitroglycerin used to break up solid rock. Due to the harsh conditions they faced, hundreds of Chinese working on the railway died from accidents, winter cold, illness and malnutrition. Although Chinese workers faced and overcame great obstacles to help build the CPR, they were left out of the national celebration surrounding its completion. In the iconic historic photograph of CPR Director Donald Alexander Smith driving the ceremonial “last spike,” when the western and eastern sections of the CPR finally met in British Columbia, all of the Chinese workers were cleared from view. Many people have pointed out the lingering injustice captured in that image: there is not a single Chinese worker in the photograph, even though Chinese labourers suffered, toiled and died building the railway that has come to symbolize the unity of Canada from coast to coast. To commemorate the thousands of lives lost, I built a light box. Using the "blurry" iconic photo on the front, accompanied by the "behind the scenes" photo of true heroes on the back.”