Pop art blends cultures

JIM CHIPP/The Wellingtonian

HOME MADE: The book of Wellington fanzine artist Kerry Ann Lee's exhibition is literally all her own work. The artwork, designs and writing are all her own, and she will personally print and bind every single copy before signing it for buyers. As a third-generation Chinese Wellingtonian she did much of her growing up in her parents' cafes and restaurants.

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Milk-shakes with fried rice are an unusual combo but to a young Kerry Ann Lee it constituted balance. The Chinese Kiwi artist grew up the child of Wellington cafe owners and restaurateurs.

"To me it was a balance of western food; milk shakes with fried rice." Her parents operated the Gold Coin Cafe, the Favourite Milk Bar and the Cantonese Cafe.

Lee is an underground artist, arts lecturer and freelance designer best-known for her underground punk fanzine work.

As part of her work towards a Master of Design degree at Massey University, Lee has tried to make sense of what it is to be a third-generation Chinese Wellingtonian in her Home Made exhibition at Toi Poneke Gallery. She has also presented the works in a limited edition, self-published book that is likely to be a popular artwork in itself.

It forms the exhibition centre-piece.

"Everyone's understanding of the cultural history is different" she says. "This is my kind of interpretation."

Growing up as an English-speaking Chinese New Zealander, Lee says she is perceived differently by different people, some consider her to be Kiwi and others, Chinese. Sometimes people will slow their speech to her and ask where she is from. For the record, she's from Newtown; three generations removed from her Cantonese forebears.

"I grew up with Wellington being very diverse and multi-cultural, and I really appreciate that."

Her work is a playful mix of collages, paper-cuttings, and dioramas constituted from found materials. Kiwiana is depicted in traditional Chinese forms. A close look at a Chinese dish reveals a 1960s state house that could be from Naenae or Strathmore.

"A lot of the things I do are between cultures," she says.

"Art descriptions, design descriptions, the local history, my own personal private moments growing up - all those elements have that kind of push-pull tension."

She was pleased to able to incorporate some oral history from her own family and friends.

There is no tension between her underground art and Chinese tradition; they make a comfortable fit, she says.

"It is, by the nature of the work, very much a self-published effort, very much underground," she says.

"The big thing about Chinese culture is giving gifts, including people and sharing food. The whole thing about underground culture is sharing thoughts on paper. In a way it goes with the personal being political."

The gorgeous book is divided into sections: Chinese proverbs traditions and mythology, first arrivals - the Chinese gold miners and their immigration and finally personal stories of Chinese migrants in Aotearoa.

"People will engage with the work in the exhibition through [the] aesthetic first. It's an elegant piece of work."

Looking back at her Chinese heritage has been a growth exercise for her, she says.

"It's very much something that I want to keep up with, and keep with me. I'm in a constant state of discovery."

Her unique perspective on her discoveries are on show from Thursday (July 24) evening in Home Made: Picturing Chinese Settlement in New Zealand until August 22 at Toi Poneke Gallery, 61-63 Abel Smith Street. A limited number of copies of her book will be available.