Depixelating History, 2026
August 21 - October 10, 2026
The New Gallery, Calgary, AB
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 21, 2026, 7 – 9pm
Artists: Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Ryan Park, Linda Zhang
Curated by Gladys Lou
Depixelating History examines the intersection of technology and tradition in the Asian diaspora, deciphering the way popular culture and heritage converge in contemporary life.
An image is made up of countless pixels, just as history is built from personal stories and collective experiences that come into focus when pieced together. Centering on community memories and cultural identity, Depixelating History explores the possibility of digital technology in reactivating history and amplifying marginalized narratives, bridging tradition and modernity. The exhibition asks: How does technology shape our understanding and connection to our cultural roots? How can digital tools be utilized to reimagine the archives and facilitate new forms of placemaking?
Depixelating History features works by Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Ryan Park, and Linda Zhang, whose practices range from 3D animation, augmented reality, digital photography, and sculptural installation. From an immersive journey through Toronto's Chinatown and an illuminated food market sign to augmented reality self-portraits inspired by Chinese opera masks, the exhibition highlights the interconnected experiences of migration across cultures and generations, portraying a speculative future where technology and tradition evolve together.
The New Gallery, Calgary, AB
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 21, 2026, 7 – 9pm
Artists: Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Ryan Park, Linda Zhang
Curated by Gladys Lou
Depixelating History examines the intersection of technology and tradition in the Asian diaspora, deciphering the way popular culture and heritage converge in contemporary life.
An image is made up of countless pixels, just as history is built from personal stories and collective experiences that come into focus when pieced together. Centering on community memories and cultural identity, Depixelating History explores the possibility of digital technology in reactivating history and amplifying marginalized narratives, bridging tradition and modernity. The exhibition asks: How does technology shape our understanding and connection to our cultural roots? How can digital tools be utilized to reimagine the archives and facilitate new forms of placemaking?
Depixelating History features works by Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Ryan Park, and Linda Zhang, whose practices range from 3D animation, augmented reality, digital photography, and sculptural installation. From an immersive journey through Toronto's Chinatown and an illuminated food market sign to augmented reality self-portraits inspired by Chinese opera masks, the exhibition highlights the interconnected experiences of migration across cultures and generations, portraying a speculative future where technology and tradition evolve together.
Poster & Publication Design: Hubert Swietorzecki
Poster Image: Chu Hua Catherine Dong, Skin Deep, 2018-2020, photograph with Augmented Reality. Image courtesy of the artist
Installation Photo: Danny Luong
Poster Image: Chu Hua Catherine Dong, Skin Deep, 2018-2020, photograph with Augmented Reality. Image courtesy of the artist
Installation Photo: Danny Luong
EXHIBITION PUBLICATION
| depixelating_history_booklet_web.pdf |
PUBLIC PROGRAM
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Remapping Futures
August 22, 2026 Globe Cinema, Calgary Cinematheque The screening program, Remapping Futures presents experimental films and videos that fuse analog and digital media to document the afterlives of places and communities influenced by migration and urban transformation. Through archival research, film collage, 3D scanning, and digital animation, the selected works explore the capacity of moving images in preserving historical events and diasporic memories. From the story of 8.75mm films once circulated in China to the imagined futures of Toronto’s Chinatown built upon community storytelling, the program considers how places and object carry intergenerational memories. Together, these works examine ways of recovering lost histories, reanimating abandoned sites, and connecting with loved ones who are no longer with us. |
Program Lineup:
Peng Zuqiang, Afternoon Hearsay四散, 2025, 19 min, super 8, 16mm and 35mm transferred into digital
“8.75mm is a gauge of celluloid filmstrip that circulated exclusively in China between the 1960s and 1980s. Designed primarily for itinerant screenings in villages and rural areas, the format never had its own dedicated camera. By blending 8.75mm film prints with contemporary Super 8 footage, Peng Zuqiang takes us on a sensorial journey into the past of a country defined by rapid transformation, preserving a fragment of memory endangered by oblivion.”- Rebecca De Pas
Simon Liu and Jennie MaryTai Liu, -force-, 2020, 9 min, 16mm & AE Animation to 2K
“Placid views of Hong Kong merge with dizzying, semi-abstract digital animations—avatars in a parable about control. A mesmerizing, menacing voiceover—part body politic regulator, part cyberpunk travel guide—both promises order, accountability, and satisfaction, and threatens trouble, polarization, and tears. A fire has been started, movement has gone on to reach multiple points of no return.”– Simon Liu
Linda Zhang Chinatown 2050, 2020, 17:43 min, video
“An experimental short film featuring stories shared by Asian Canadian youth living in Toronto’s Chinatown. Made through LiDAR 3D scans and visual collage, and informed by conversations with the Toronto Community Land Trust, the work documents and preserves the neighbourhood’s architecture while collectively reimagining its future as an affordable and culturally meaningful home.” – Gladys Lou
Daphne Xu ping pong ping pong ping pong ping pong ping pong, 2024, 9 min, 16mm to digital
“The ping pong table at Seward Park in New York City and the in-between space of a Cold War. An immigration lawyer advises on how to tell the truth.”– Daphne Xu
Gabriel Gabriel Garble, Well Wishes My Love, Your Love, 2022, 9 min, digital animation, 16:9, colour, stereo 48 kHz
“Newly orphaned and freshly wounded from a loss, a boy lends his companion a prosthetic arm for the day. The companion would then expose the prosthetic limb to different textures and materials, documenting the process. As the moon inches closer and closer towards the sun, the boy sees something unusual reflected on the water's surface... What will become of the limb, and of the video recordings?” – Gabriel Gabriel Garble
Peng Zuqiang, Afternoon Hearsay四散, 2025, 19 min, super 8, 16mm and 35mm transferred into digital
“8.75mm is a gauge of celluloid filmstrip that circulated exclusively in China between the 1960s and 1980s. Designed primarily for itinerant screenings in villages and rural areas, the format never had its own dedicated camera. By blending 8.75mm film prints with contemporary Super 8 footage, Peng Zuqiang takes us on a sensorial journey into the past of a country defined by rapid transformation, preserving a fragment of memory endangered by oblivion.”- Rebecca De Pas
Simon Liu and Jennie MaryTai Liu, -force-, 2020, 9 min, 16mm & AE Animation to 2K
“Placid views of Hong Kong merge with dizzying, semi-abstract digital animations—avatars in a parable about control. A mesmerizing, menacing voiceover—part body politic regulator, part cyberpunk travel guide—both promises order, accountability, and satisfaction, and threatens trouble, polarization, and tears. A fire has been started, movement has gone on to reach multiple points of no return.”– Simon Liu
Linda Zhang Chinatown 2050, 2020, 17:43 min, video
“An experimental short film featuring stories shared by Asian Canadian youth living in Toronto’s Chinatown. Made through LiDAR 3D scans and visual collage, and informed by conversations with the Toronto Community Land Trust, the work documents and preserves the neighbourhood’s architecture while collectively reimagining its future as an affordable and culturally meaningful home.” – Gladys Lou
Daphne Xu ping pong ping pong ping pong ping pong ping pong, 2024, 9 min, 16mm to digital
“The ping pong table at Seward Park in New York City and the in-between space of a Cold War. An immigration lawyer advises on how to tell the truth.”– Daphne Xu
Gabriel Gabriel Garble, Well Wishes My Love, Your Love, 2022, 9 min, digital animation, 16:9, colour, stereo 48 kHz
“Newly orphaned and freshly wounded from a loss, a boy lends his companion a prosthetic arm for the day. The companion would then expose the prosthetic limb to different textures and materials, documenting the process. As the moon inches closer and closer towards the sun, the boy sees something unusual reflected on the water's surface... What will become of the limb, and of the video recordings?” – Gabriel Gabriel Garble
