LEFTOVERS AT GOODSPACE GALLERY

I recently shared my calligraphy sculpture SECOND GENERATION with Leftovers, a group show curated by Aleena Rizvi at Goodspace Gallery. The exhibition explored the interplay of cultural preservation and erasure through the intimate mediums of food, memory, language, and ritual. Importantly, the event supported humanitarian relief for families in Gaza, with all proceeds going to The Sameer Project and Palestine Red Crescent.

Ink, rice paper, tracing paper, thread

SECOND GENERATION is a meditation on language as a vessel of culture, and handwriting as a form of embodied memory.

In this work, I explored my experience as a child of two Chinese migrants. I grew up with Chinese around me: in the language I spoke with family, the community newspapers my parents read at the breakfast table, my father's calligraphy hanging on the walls of our home. And yet, I cannot read the language.

There's a chasm between my parents' generation and mine. They are still very much part of a land that was the birthplace of every member of their family lines until I was born as the first foreigner in Australia.

I've used my clumsy hand to copy the calligraphy of my father. Much like me, to a non-Chinese person the characters appear authentic. But they are actually marred with errors, and little more than inky scrawl.

My parents brought as much of their history with them as they could when they migrated 35 years ago. I have received only an incomplete echo, fragments stitched together.

Speaking with other artists in the show, I felt such a sense of belonging and connection as we shared stories about our histories. I wasn't the only one who felt so close to family and heritage, but also keenly conscious of the barriers that stand between us.

Jiafang Li playing the pipa with SECOND GENERATION

I was especially honoured by Sydney-based musician and educator Jiafang Li, who specialises in Chinese traditional instruments, performing on the pipa with SECOND GENERATION hanging behind her.

Other incredible artists I met included Jenny Zhou, Kyati Suharo, Madlehn Saoud, Maria Thaddea, Millicent Lee, and Parminder Kaur.

Being part of Leftovers alongside such a thoughtful group of artists was a wonderful experience. The conversations happening in the show — across disciplines and diasporas — feel vital in this time of discord and uncertainty.