In 1893 a passenger-laden sternwheeler sunk in the Thames River in London Ontario. This holiday crash claimed the lives of 200 victims from all social strata of the community. In the days following the crash, the local newspapers were full of speculation, blames and "what ifs". Bystanders commented on the events and others noted that swimming was important skill. Suffusing all was the grief, despair and empathy of surviving family and loved ones. One survivor talked about choosing to live as he almost drowned and then swam successfully for shore. "I became unconscious and sank beneath the surface. But touching bottom gave me fresh energy and I swam once more for shore. " These paraphrased words became the base for my photo based work, "I became unconscious." I became unconscious is a work with multiple components including B/W photographs, sculptural components, video loop with sound.