Subtitled Publication Launch

Stephanie Ee, Jessica Tu, Hamy Do, Emily Dang, Su Yang

23 Aug 2018

Subtitled aims to communicate what it means to be young and Asian in Australia by bringing together artists and writers to convey experiences of cultural identity, diaspora, migration and displacement.

This edition responds to critical theorist Homi K. Bhabha's idea of the 'Third Space' that suggests community and identity are formed as a constant negotiation and reformation between points of difference. The 'Third Space' is a point of hybridity and collision that facilitates the formation of ‘something new and unrecognizable’ from which new identities and meaning can arise. It is from this state of flux, that young Asian Australian artists create.

'Growing up, I often watched Asian movies that my parents purchased with English subtitles that were often inaccurate and only somewhat helpful. Though subtitles open the doors to an unfamiliar language, they are often misleading, feel awkward and not quite right.'

Subtitled captures this loss of meaning and shifts it to centre stage to offer a platform for artists of the Asian Australian diaspora to tell their own narratives without the imperative to explain or translate.

Hamy Do, 'Untitled 1: Yellow', 2018 , digital photograph. Courtesy of the artist.

Su Yang + Xiaoan Zhang, 'Beauty', 2017, film still from video, 2 minutes 59 seconds. Courtesy of the artists.

Jessica Tu, 'Untitled', 2017, pencil on paper. Courtesy of the artist.

Stephanie Ee, 'Wash it Away', 2017, shot on Konica Hexar AF, 35mm fixed, Portra 400. Courtesy of the artist.

Hamy Do, 'Untitled 2: Blue', 2018, digital photograph. Courtesy of the artist.

Onsite, Publication

Overview

Blindside was pleased to launch the first edition of Subtitled – a publication curated by Gallery Intern, Monica Do, on 23 August 2018.

Key Dates

Publication Launch: 23 Aug 2018, 8am–10am

Acknowledgment

This program takes place on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded - this land is stolen land. We pay respects to Wurundjeri Elders, past, present and emerging, to the Elders from other communities and to any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders who might encounter or participate in the program.

Biographies

Stephanie Ee is a Perth based artist specialising in film and digital photography, and illustration. With her experience spanning over 10 years, her desire to capture the honest and rawness of her subjects has seen her most recent works shift from digital to film. Stephanie's passions lies in exploring ideas of identity with the hopes of raising awareness and highlighting the experiences of her subjects, in particular women of colour.

Jessica Tu is a first generation Chinese-Australian born and raised in Melbourne. She is currently undertaking her final year of University studying a double degree in Bachelor of Business (Marketing) and Bachelor of Visual Arts. Her main practice is in drawing but often dabbles in other mediums such as photography and textiles. The main focus in her works is to share her experiences as a youth. Using her position of privilege being able-bodied and university-educated, she aims to use art as a platform to research, recognise and understand how my existence in this world has been shaped, and how her existence can shape the world around her.

Hamy Do is drawn to colour and strangeness, utilizing her skills in illustration and photography to explore the interconnection between art and culture. Do is a Melbourne based artist who takes inspiration from her diverse upbringing, having moved from Vietnam to China and eventually to Australia. Do’s unique perspective allows her to transcend typical depictions of the world around her allowing her work to walk the fine line between familiarity and other-worldliness. With each work, she aims to draw the viewer into her emotional world through colour, computer editing and unique composition.

Emily Dang is an artist and sociologist, with a passion for addressing gendered and racial inequalities. Graduating from Monash University in 2017 with Honours in Arts and Visual Arts, she currently works for a women’s reproductive health advocacy service, and writes and illustrates in her spare time.

Su Yang was born and raised up in China. She is a feminist art scholar and an artist working in painting, drawing, photography and video. Yang is currently doing her PhD research in visual art at The University of Melbourne, where she is an academic assistant there in Australia. She received her MFA in painting from SUNY, Buffalo in the USA and BA in design from Tsinghua University in China. She has had successful solo exhibitions in the US and Australia that have been noted by the Chinese Ministry of Culture’s official website and have been reviewed widely in Chinese and English – language press.

Curators

Monica Do is an emerging curator based in Melbourne. She finished her Bachelor of Art History and Curating at Monash University. Her practice resides in exploring notions of diaspora in western society and continuing impacts of colonialism.

Publication Details

The print run was limited to 100 copies.

38 copies were specially packaged in a red envelope in the style of the red money packet that is received for New Years, and included a Feng Shui coin, used to symbolize good fortune. These were priced at $15. Every edition afterwards was priced at $10.

All proceeds went towards the production of the next edition of Subtitled.