Welcome
to correspondences. Our aim is to create lasting people connections across cultures through the medium of art.
to correspondences. Our aim is to create lasting people connections across cultures through the medium of art.
归属（belonging）是渴望（longing），一种渴望。对于那些生活在自己所选国土的移民来说，有否归属感，这是一个关键问题。这取决于他们渴望什么：他们渴望的是享受短暂福利之后，就打点行装，启程回家的一个临时居留之地？还是一个能在那儿获得真正归属感，长期居住下去的永久飞地，或（第二）故乡？——欧阳昱
——欧阳昱
Belonging is longing, a longing. For migrants to live in a land they have chosen to settle themselves in, to be(long) or not to be(long) is a crucial question. It depends on what they long for: Is it a temporary abode for short-term benefits before packing up and going home, a permanent enclave on its own or a (second) home where they feel they truly belong or want to be long in?
—Ouyang Yu
Silent Dialogue / 沉默的对话 is a group art exhibition about migration and the search for a sense of belonging. Featuring contemporary works of painting, photography, sound, moving image, literature, installation and assemblage by leading Chinese Australian artists, the exhibition examines how the language of art has allowed the artists to translate and traverse the migration experience. The title refers to the sense of ambiguity which often characterises migration.
It is an exhibition about feeling: present and absent; heard and un-heard; displaced and placed; welcome and rejected; angry and indifferent; and, grateful for an ‘otherland’, while grieving the loss of a motherland. At the heart of the exhibition is the idea that it is the gesture of silence that is the key to mutual understanding and genuine dialogue across cultures; a realisation which has long been a cornerstone of Chinese philosophical thought.
Continue reading below for an overview of the project. Press the button below to enter.
The exhibition is/was presented in three parts.
Part 1: Book, Soundscape & Reading Room: The first part entailed the publishing of an illustrated, multilingual book featuring imagery and original texts by leading artists, scholars and writers from different disciplines, cultural backgrounds, generations and places within Australia. The soundscape commissioned for the exhibition, by vocalist and multidisciplinary artist Chun Yin Rainbow Chan / 陳雋然, was released to accompany the publishing of the book in December 2020.
Parts 2: Virtual Exhibits: The second part delivered was a virtual exhibition space which can be accessed online anytime. It comprises of:
Eight interconnecting artist rooms featuring new and historical works alongside a long-form interview with each exhibiting artist.
A ‘Reading Room’ featuring selected readings by our participating writers.
Parts 3: Physical Exhibits: The third part of our exhibition delivered was an opportunity for our audiences to enjoy our artists’ works in person. Our exhibits showed from 17 December 2021 until 23 January 2022 outdoors in Little Elgin St Carlton and at Missing Persons art space. For a record of what was shown, refer to our Exhibition Program and keep your eye out for the short film to be released in 2022.
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刘佳欣 / Jiaxin (Suzie) Liu
6 new people to be introduced!
昂洪欣怡 / Carolyn Ang
梅剑青 / Kim Cheng Boey
陳雋然 / Chun Yin Rainbow Chan
趙明佑 / Osmond Chiu
张奕霖 / Eileen Chong
希利尔•蒂姆 / Tim Hillier
尼古拉斯•周思 / Nicholas Jose
莫爾頓•金伯利 / Kimberley Moulton
許瑩玲 / Julie Koh
昵昵 / NiNi
钱菁华 / Jinghua Qian
孙丽仪 / Emily Soon
陳珈祺 / Elizabeth Tan
玛丽亚•图马金 / Maria Tumarkin
沈志敏 / Shen Zhimin
羅南芝 / Dr Selina Lo
Supported by the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Government.
Our warmest thanks and gratitude to our supporters who have bought our Silent Dialogue / 沉默的对话 book. Thank you for believing in us and for supporting independent creative practice and publishing.
