Article written for Chinese New Year 2010
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“Art has a diverse perception by most people and it could accommodate a lot of opposition. The creativity part could be used successfully in opening up questioning.” This is the view of South East Asian artist Jay Koh, who, along with Irish artist Thomas O’Connor, is curating an exhibition to explore this idea. If art has the power to change perceptions, could it be used to develop relations between two different communities from each side of the globe?
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“Reading the Self, Reading the Others” is an art project inviting Chinese and Irish participants to create visual representations of themselves to show to the public. It aims to promote a cross-cultural dialogue based on how we perceive each other and why. Both artists feel strongly about providing a space for communication in order to reduce the prejudices that may be felt in both communities.
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“The Chinese like to have Chinatowns in most places where they are in large numbers, because they feel they have to be comfortable with remembrance and objects from their home,” Koh says. He believes that there may be a perception that the Chinese don’t mix with the Irish and vice versa. As such, he feels that this project will encourage a greater level of understanding of each other and develop a sustainable relationship between them.
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The project is divided into two parts, one of which is through a photo exhibition. Numerous articles were published in the Sun Emerald Chinese Newspaper, inspiring Chinese people aged between 18 and 50 living in Ireland to take photos based on their experiences here. Images submitted were chosen and will be displayed for a week to the public, as a way of portraying how they see themselves within the country.
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However, this part is not only limited to visual art. “We know people will look at these images and that they’ll bring up certain questions,” says O’Connor, “but we also want to have conversations, instead of people walking away and not saying anything.” Discussions will be held, headed by three Irish people and three Chinese people on subjects common to both nationalities. These talks would explore the differences and similarities between the Irish and the Chinese, talk through issues they are facing and provide a safe space to constructively criticise the society they find themselves in.
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The second part of the project invites Irish artists to respond to the photos submitted by the Chinese, both on a human and aesthetic level. “We’re introducing the notion of artists coming in to look at the work that the Chinese have made and develop a relationship… which will then allow some sort of critical discourse to enter,” O’Connor says, “Because relationship is so important in Chinese communities.” It is hoped that this will allow equal development of the work being made between the Chinese and Irish artists.
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The exhibition found its beginnings in the “Ni ho/Dia duit” project in 2007, where Jay Koh spent time researching and working with the Chinese community around Parnell Street in Dublin. Thomas O’Connor, who was working in the Chester Beatty Gallery, became familiar with his work and wished to collaborate with him. “Two years on, we managed to get some funding from the arts council,” O’Connor says, “And this has allowed us to develop those relations with the Chinese and has supported this exhibition.”
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“Reading the Self, Reading the Others” runs from the 14th of February to the 20th of February at 15-19 Essex Street West in Temple Bar, Dublin 8.
