Through the metaphor of a koi pond, The Age of Exporasian explores the cultural identity of Asian Australians, highlighting the importance of community and diversity. The project aims to represent all types of Asian cultures and tell stories from new perspectives that transcend stereotypes and clichés. The green and gold lily pads in the koi pond are adorned with different Asian cultural patterns, symbolising and celebrating the homogenised Asian Australian culture, which is a result of Asian migration.
White Night projection
An animated projection art piece for Melbourne’s White Night, to be projected on the facade of the Immigration Museum.
After asking other Asian Australians ‘What’s your favourite thing about being an Asian Australian?’ One of the most popular responses was ‘Being knowledgable about different races and cultures in my upbringing, connecting with other Asian Australians and the exposure to different Asian cultures that comes with that.’
To represent the mixing of cultures, the koi pond is full of drifting lily pads, adorned with patterns from different Asian cultures. The lily pads are green and gold, reminiscent of the national colours of Australia. The sound design for this piece combines Australian wildlife sound with the serene sounds of a koi pond, to create a giant multicultural Asian pond existing in the landscape of Australian society.
Zines
A series of six zines that share a collection of unique coming-of-age stories from my own life.
They discuss mundane experiences and topics that are normal for some, yet foreign to others. The design of the zines combines illustration, typography, photography and koi pond graphics to visually bring the stories to life.
They are A6 when folded and open up to become an A3 poster. The posters have a section of a koi pond and when all six zines are expanded, they can be collated to form one larger koi pond. Inside the zines, there is a smaller card that shows how the posters should look once arranged.
Laneway exhibition
A laneway exhibition in Niagara Lane in Melbourne CBD, designed around the idea of names and identity.
The text bubbles on the walls are excerpts from the article Straddling the Cultural Divide: Second-Generation South Asian Identity and The Namesake by Farha Shariff. These quotes are about the importance of names and how it can effect ones identity. This is designed to encourage the audience to reflect on their own names and its significance, for example, whether it has familial or cultural importance.
The floor is the campaign’s signature koi pond motif with projected lily pads that rotate along the side of the wall. During the experience, the soundscape of Australian wildlife mixed with the koi pond plays in the background. Artificial Willow trees and blossoms become an interactive activity where visitors are invited to write their names on a decoration and hang them up and be proud of their identity.
Promotional material
The Age of Explorasian is promoted mostly through out-of-home advertising around the city of Melbourne and surrounding suburbs.
This advertising campaign celebrates Asian cultures by changing the look of the koi pond and replacing the water texture with patterns used throughout the project. The branded tote bag design is sold at the exhibition along with the zines as a collectable keepsake from the experience.
