Artist
It’s powerful for people to know their heritage — it can be really important for giving insight to the past. Where people don’t have connection to their heritage there can be a high cost to that disconnection.
When I came to Australia in the early 60s, there weren’t many Asian migrants in the regional community I grew up in. I missed out on that. My exhibition at the Hahndorf Academy throughout History Festival looks directly at my personal heritage, and the reciprocal gift exchange that is cultural sharing.
I am constantly aware of the first-inhabitants of our country. There’s a pervasive sadness to what has been lost, yet it’s so encouraging to have met Ngadjuri descendants who continue breathing life into past cultures.