Artist Talk with Mai Nguyen-Long, NC Qin and Zoe Wong led by Rachael Kiang.
Find out more about the Inner Edge Drifting exhibition as artists discuss what navigating and creating within the third cultural space means to them. Australian culture is defined by its rich diversity, which has influenced its creative and artistic landscape. By being exposed to a variety of cultures and customs, thoughts and attitudes, these artists identify with the experiences of the Third Culture Kid, which has informed their artistic practice. Traversing multiple cultures, traditions and customs has provided these artists with a broad range of sources for their unique creative expressions. Join them in the Creator Space for a discussion about these Third Culture experiences.
Image: Zoe Wong, #2, 2019, digital image still
Born in Tasmania to a Vietnamese father and an Australian mother, Mai Nguyễn-Long grew up in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines; as an adult she lived in Australia, China, and Vietnam. Early academic commitments included Asian Studies, Art History, and Museum Studies. This trajectory of experiences continues to shape Mai’s arts practice. Since 1996 Mai has exhibited across a range of mediums including painting, drawing, media, mixed media sculptures and installation.
NC Qin is a Sydney-based Chinese Australian artist. Her sculpture installations feature a signature use of glass and primarily explore the performative, psychological and emotive relationships within the interpersonal and intrapersonal space. NC Qin’s sculptural practice examines the human psyche and seeks to express abstract emotional experiences in visual analogies.
Zoe Wong is a Sydney based artist whose practice explores her half Chinese, half Australian heritage as well as her queer identity through photographic appropriation and mixed media installations. Her work illustrates the complexities behind the influence that pop culture has on society’s notions of race and identity and how we perceive ourselves through representation in mass media. Wong describes her practice as a ‘De-Orientalising’ practice in which she works to break down and critique notions of the East presented in a Western context.
This event is part of Chatswood Year of the Rabbit Festival, the North Shore’s premier Lunar New Year celebrations presented by Willoughby City Council.