Sina Huang

Artist Catalogue

Virtual Exhibition

團圓

As a third-generation immigrant from Taiwan who grew up in South Africa, I have always felt a disconnect from my culture. Going out onto the street, I was often confronted with words such as “China, China” or “Ching Chong Cha” and constant stares of curiosity for the other. Oddly enough, as I grew older and the looks subsided, I continued to feel eyes on me even when they weren't there. In The Unseeing Eyes, I created eyes out of clay which will be scattered around the walls of the exhibition space. They are painted white to mimic the colour of the gallery walls and in an effort to blend in with the exhibition space. The eyes are unseeing, as they are not actually looking at anything, and although they are sculpted to remain open, they lack pupils. This references the imaginary eyes that I feel on me constantly. The pupilless eyes are designed to make the viewer uneasy as if hundreds of eyes are staring at them, but in reality, the eyes are not capable of “seeing” as they are pupilless and inanimate.

At the height of Covid-19, when Asian hate crimes were at their peak, my father instructed the rest of my family and me to pack an emergency bag. This bag contained essentials that we would need in case we needed to flee. During that time, I remember being terrified that something would happen to my family. And it saddened me as the main cause of these hate crimes stemmed largely from the misconceptions that Covid originated in China and the false rumour that it was caused by bat soup. Therefore, my second artwork aims to create an environment in which people who are unfamiliar with Chinese food and culture can learn through interactions with the art. _____ is a Five Letter Word is heavily influenced and inspired by my father, who owned and oversaw multiple Chinese restaurants throughout my childhood. As a child, the only time that my whole family came together was during events or festivals where we would dine together. Despite being constantly stared at, which was odd considering we were Asian people in a Chinese restaurant, it was the only public place that I felt completely safe.

In Chinese culture, a huge emphasis is placed on food, and the act of dining together becomes essential to create, maintain and deepen relationships. In _____ is a Five Letter Word, I invite my viewers, in groups of five, to experience a carefully curated recreation of a Chinese meal. I designed for my viewers to interact with my artwork through a game where the five participants are tasked with solving clues to find the QR codes hidden in each dish. Accompanying each QR code are miniature mooncakes with five different letters etched on top. The participants must unscramble the letters, figuring out the title of the artwork and to complete the game.

Both artworks speak to my experience growing up as a third-generation immigrant in South Africa. However, whilst both stem from my experience of discrimination, The Unseeing Eyes thrusts the viewer into a space where they can experience my feelings of alienation and othering, whereas _____ is a Five Letter Word creates a safe place where people from different cultures and backgrounds can come together to learn about Chinese culture and food through a carefully curated Chinese “meal” in a form of an interactive game.