The sleep of reason produces monsters: Steven Shearer’s Profaned Travelers

In April 2021, Steven Shearer’s photographs were displayed on billboards along Vancouver’s Arbutus Greenway as part of the Capture Photography Festival. Sourced from his collection of found images, the works pictured individuals caught in the depths of deep sleep. Despite their art historical references, many viewers associated the images with death, sparking public backlash and exposing underlying fears of social precarity. Ultimately, the works were censored two days after their display. This article explores the underlying reasons behind the work’s censorship, underscoring how the images gave expression to societal discomfort with vulnerability and the pressures of a hyper-connected, 24/7 capitalist culture that prioritizes productivity and consumption over rest and reverie, as well as emphasizing the tension between the sacred and the profane in everyday life.