About the Archive

The Pacific Cacophony Archive collects the newsletters, photographs, essays, and recorded memories of three Cacophony Society chapters that emerged independently on the Pacific Rim between 2018 and 2025 — in Shanghai, Haikou, and Ōtautahi (Christchurch).

The Cacophony Society itself was a loose underground network that began in San Francisco in 1986, descended from the older Suicide Club. Its members staged events "beyond the pale of mainstream society" — Santa Con, the Brides of March, public croquet at midnight, coordinated absurdity on the bus. A handful of them planted the first Burning Man on Baker Beach in 1986; the rest of the lineage runs through every regional burn since.

Camp Cacophonia at Dragonburn 2018 carried the spirit back into Shanghai. From there it spread to Haikou in 2019, to Christchurch in 2020, dormant through the long quiet, and back to life again in 2025. None of this was organised — Cacophony has never had members, dues, or leaders. It is a permission slip dressed as a network.

This archive exists because the original newsletters and photos were scattered across WeChat, Substack, hard drives, and the memories of people now living on three continents. Some have already been lost. Most are still out there. If you have any of it — issues we're missing, photos that didn't make it to the scans, stories that were never written down — add it to the archive or get in touch.

Contribute

Anyone can add to this. Send a story, a memory, a photo, or a missing issue through the contribute page — or write to us directly at shcacophony@protonmail.com.

Credits

Built by the chapters themselves. No rights reserved. Steal freely.