Brisbane-based Asian-Australian visual artists Christine Ko and Louis Lim will curate and share the diverse experiences and unique tales of local migrant communities in a collective kite installation as Museum of Brisbane’s BrisAsia 2024 Artists-in-Residence.
A part of the artists’ ongoing Departure exhibition, this latest iteration, comprised of colourful kites and recollections, is on display at MoB until 7 June 2024, coinciding with the annual city-wide BrisAsia Festival of Asian art, culture and cuisine.
Using kites as a symbol for the migrant experience and tapping into creative traditions, Christine and Louis will incorporate crowd-sourced family photographs into paper kites that share the duelling emotions of taking a leap into the unknown and letting the wind carry you.
“[The kites] evoke flights of joyous and naïve childlike wonder and optimism that is simultaneously at the whim of external circumstances, constantly buffeted by the surrounding environment that can sometimes lead to deep disappointment (crash landing),” said the artists.
Kites will swell the evolving community art project showcased in the Museum’s hallway entrance, accompanied by written transcripts and individual recollections for shared stories that allow larger conversations about immigration and race in Australia to take flight.
As part of their BrisAsia Stories residency, the artists seek to collaborate with first- and second-generation migrants from a variety of cultural backgrounds and age groups.
Christine and Louis will conduct informal conversations with interested participants until 1 March 2024 followed by a kite-making workshop with the artists between March and May 2024. To register your interest in participating in the community art project, visit: www.museumofbrisbane.com.au
Departure by Christine Ko and Louis Lim continues at the Museum of Brisbane until 7 June 2024. For more information, visit: www.museumofbrisbane.com.au for details.
Image: Departure by Christine Ko and Louis Lim – photo by Louis Lim