Description
Book SynopsisMass Capture argues the CI 9 documents implemented by the Canadian government to acquire information on Chinese migrants acted as a process of mass capture that produced non-citizens. Cho reveals CI 9s as more than documents of racist repression: they offer possibilities for beauty and dignity in the archive, for captivation as well as capture.
Trade Review"Lily Cho pays homage to the subjects of these captivating photographs by searching for signs of resistance in the archive. She has written a deeply humane book that sharpens our understanding of the racist logics of exclusion that founded the Canadian nation-state. Mass Capture is a rich resource for any consideration of citizenship, photography, and migration." Sharon Sliwinski, University of Western Ontario and author of Human Rights in Camera
"Mass Capture is a terrific book, full of careful insight into a neglected set of state records. Lily Cho writes with passion and a sense of ethical purpose and provides a new way to sleuth histories from the files of officialdom. This book will be a touchstone for future inquiries in photo history." Anthony W. Lee, Mount Holyoke College and author of The Global Flows of Early Scottish Photography: Encounters in Scotland, Canada, and China
“Cho’s monograph is an obvious choice for those interested in Chinese Canadian histories of citizenship and labour, but her focus on aesthetics extends the project’s disciplinary boundaries and potential readership.” University of Toronto Quarterly
